The Best Presidential Beards

For a country that has a long and consistent history of slanting masculine in the highest office in the land (news flash: there has never been a female president), surprisingly few of our Presidents have worn beards (oddly enough, there was a half-century stretch, 1860 - 1913, where all by two Commander-in-Chiefs had facial hair). Fortunately, of that small number that have, more than a couple have sported spectacular facial hair. Here’s our rundown of the best Presidential beards. Sorry, Abe, but your chin whiskers didn’t make the cut:

Martin Van Buren
Chester A. Arthur usually gets credit for having the top mutton chops in the game, and Van Buren doesn’t even have the distinction of pioneering the look for Commanders in Chief (that distinction goes to the much-maligned John Quincy Adams). But Arthur’s chops were, depending on the time, either decidedly wispy or disgustingly canine — and didn’t tie in well with his man-on-a-mission moustache. Van Buren’s chops, meanwhile, struck the perfect balance, robust and authoritative without being completely over-the-top.

Teddy Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt forces the question: is it the moustache that counts — or the man that wears it? Roosevelt, by sheer force of will, was perhaps the single manliest President in our nation’s history, and his bulldog moustache was an essential part of his persona, giving him the air of a mid-19th-century British cavalry commander preparing to run down opposing Russian forces on a white charger. That said, he kept the ‘stache meticulously groomed — without a hint of beard on his cheeks — so how much credit can we really give him on this list? Regardless, anytime you’re in the same conversation as Daniel Plainview for authoritative moustaches, we're giving you some credit.

Ulysses S. Grant
By the time he became President, Grant’s beard had gone from its wild, take-all-comers Civil War General stage to a more meticulously manicured, perhaps even melancholy, professionalism. Nonetheless, it seems oddly appropriate that the only consistent part of Grant’s strange, schizophrenic, quintessentially American career -- from brilliant general to bad President to great writer — was essentially a fashion statement. Also, bonus points for out-bearding Confederate rival Robert E Lee’s frankly diabolical chin-triangle.

Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes served only one term, and despite the best of intentions was unequal to the task of reconciling the North and South in the wake of the Civil War. Nonetheless, he earned himself a unique place in American history by having what may be the greatest beard in American history. Without even a thought to sculpting or trimming, Hayes waltzed through his Presidency with a fearsome facial fur that conveyed the simple sentiment that he had better things to do than care what ladies’ magazines had to say about his grooming. Perhaps it may speak to the man and his disposition that he resembled nothing so much as a Greek philosopher: Hayes’s Socratic temperament was a singular and positive quality, but not one that prepared him to be President.

[All pics via Wikimedia Commons. Top - Edward Dallas. Van Buren – Library of Congress. Roosevelt - Cowan's Auctions. Grant - Library of Congress. Hayes - Library of Congress.]