--- title: Most Influential Beards of All Time: Gallery description: Facial hair has a long and iconic history. See where the trends all started canonical: https://time.com/4102357/most-influential-beards-all-time/ author: Kenneth Bachor article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-06T22:14:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:50.355Z og:title: Most Influential Beards of All Time: Gallery og:description: Facial hair has a long and iconic history. See where the trends all started og:url: https://time.com/4102357/most-influential-beards-all-time/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt128ea80ad340bc37/69886fdfbc6cfc4cb03da40f/gettyimages-478342684.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: ZZ Top Perform At SSE Arena Wembley og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Most Influential Beards of All Time: Gallery twitter:description: Facial hair has a long and iconic history. See where the trends all started twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt128ea80ad340bc37/69886fdfbc6cfc4cb03da40f/gettyimages-478342684.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The 25 Most Influential Beards of All Time by [Kenneth Bachor](https://time.com/author/kenneth-bachor/) and [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/) Nov 6, 2015 10:14 PM UTC  ZZ Top's Dusty Hill, left, and Billy Gibbons, right. ZZ Top's Dusty Hill, left, and Billy Gibbons, right.Rob Ball—Getty Images by [Kenneth Bachor](https://time.com/author/kenneth-bachor/) and [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/) Nov 6, 2015 10:14 PM UTC This weekend marks the [National Beard and Moustache Championships](http://www.nationalbeardchampionships.com/) in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Nov. 7, 2015\. The stated purpose of the event? To “to find and honor the best facial hair in America,” of course. To celebrate some of the most important facial hair throughout history, we compiled a list of the 25 most influential beards of all time. From musicians like ZZ Top to world leaders, each of the men on this list played a key role in shaping history, politics and culture.  Abraham Lincoln. National Archives/Getty Images  ZZ Top's Dusty Hill, left, and Billy Gibbons, right. Rob Ball—Getty Images  Chuck Norris. Jon Kopaloff—Getty Images  Mr. T. Ray Tamarra—Getty Images  Gandalf. New Line Cinema/Getty Images  Zach Galifianakis. Douglas Gorenstein—Getty Images  Fidel Castro. Getty Images  Leonardo da Vinci. Getty Images  Billy Mays. Paul Drinkwater—Getty Images  Jesus. DEA Picture Library/Getty Images  Karl Marx. Roger Viollet Collection/Getty Images  TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone. Chris Weeks—Getty Images  Jerry Garcia. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images  Jeff Bridges. Tom Williams—Getty Images  Santa Claus. Hulton Archive/Getty Images  Claude Monet. Getty Images  Rick Rubin. Michael Kovac—Getty Images  Brigham Young. Culture Club/Getty Images  Dave Grohl. Kevin Winter—Getty Images  Anthrax's Scott Ian. Jason Squires—Getty Images  Slayer's Kerry King. Daniel Karmann—Getty Images  Mario Batali. Jemal Countess—Getty Images  Osama bin Laden. AFP/Getty Images  Rep. Don Young. Tom Williams—Getty Images  Walt Whitman. Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4102357/most-influential-beards-all-time/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4102357/most-influential-beards-all-time/"},"headline":"The 25 Most Influential Beards of All Time","datePublished":"2015-11-06T22:14:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:50.355Z","description":"Facial hair has a long and iconic history. 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