Presidents’ Day Facial Hair Countdown #10 – John Quincy Adams

As alluded to last week, we’ll be spending the next ten days counting down the Top 10 examples of Presidential facial hair. Once a common sight, it’s been more than a century  since a head of the executive branch sported a beard or moustache (Taft was the last in 1913,) and I believe it is to this nation’s detriment. Maybe 2016 will see a turnaround?

On second thought, maybe that would be a bad idea. So, with no further ado, I submit the first in my list of the best whiskers to grace the chins and cheeks of our country’s leaders.

10: John Quincy Adams

Pssst…John…even with the sideburns, we can still tell that you’re bald.

Fast Facts

Lifetime: 1767-1848

Presidency: 6th

Facial Hair Style: Sideburns

Number of Fathers Who Were Also President: 1

One of our lesser-known Presidents, John Quincy Adams was secretary to the US Minister to Russia at the age of 14, defended the slaves aboard the famous ship Amistad, and kept a pet alligator in the White House. He begins our list not for the length, breadth, or lustrous sheen of his Executive Facial Hair, but for his historical contribution to the category. With his sideburns JQA, as he often referred to himself, was the first President to sport notable facial hair, and for that we salute him.

Check back tomorrow and every day through Presidents’ Day to see who makes the rest of our list. Disagree with my opinions? Let me know in the comments below.