Thomas Jessop

Thomas Jessop (1804-1887) was a steelmaker who served as Mayor of Sheffield, UK from 1863-1864. During his time as Mayor he had to deal with the consequences of the Great Sheffield Flood, one of the worst disasters to hit the city, killing at least 240 people and destroying hundreds of houses.

William Notman

William Notman (1826-1891) was a Canadian photographer who established branches throughout Canada and the United States and became internationally famous for his artistic compositions and mastery of a range of photographic techniques. He pioneered composite photography, creating large, intricate group portraits by photographing each figure separately, then pasting them against a painted background.

Flag of the Neckbeard Society

Here is my design for a flag of the Neckbeard Society. The central symbol is of course a simplified depiction of a person with a neckbeard. The background image is also intended to be suggestive of a person with a neckbeard (white face, black beard). The three colours used in the flag - white, black, brown - hint at the range of natural colours of a beard, which can be white, black, or various greys in between, or various browns. Another benefit of this design is that it's somewhat reminiscent of a woman's breast, which should make it memorable.

Calvin Ellis Stowe

Calvin Ellis Stowe (1802-1886) was an American Biblical scholar who was known for his advocacy of universal public education. He was the husband of Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin became one of the best-selling books of the century and helped the slavery abolition movement.

Welsh neckbeards, part 3

Today I present more neckbeards from 19th century Wales, found in the John Thomas photographic collection.

Previous parts: Part 1; Part 2

Alpheus Felch

Alpheus Felch (1804-1896) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the Governor for Michigan and was elected as a U.S. Senator. He also served as Michigan's State Bank Commissioner during 1838-1839, during which time he exposed much corruption and fraud associated with "wildcat banking", where banks were not federally regulated and were free to issue their own currency.

Ulrich Varnbüler

Ulrich Varnbüler (1432-1496) was a classical scholar and public official who served as Mayor of St. Gallen, Switzerland. There are very few examples of neckbeards in pictures or sculptures depicting people born before the 1700s, so Varnbüler is notable for being one of the earliest confirmed cases of a neckbeard. He is shown below in a woodcut by his close friend Albrecht Dürer, one of the most famous artists of the German Renaissance.

William P. Fessenden

William P. Fessenden (1806-1869) was an American politician who served as Secretary of the Treasury under Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. He was a leading antislavery campaigner, and in his earlier years as a politician he was among the Radical Republicans, a faction of politicians who demanded the complete eradication of slavery, total civil and political rights for former slaves, and punitive measures towards supporters of the Confederacy. However, during the war, Fessenden moderated his views, and followed Lincoln in supporting more leniency towards the ex-Confederates.

Oxford Dictionary vs the Neckbeard

The pejorative use of the term "neckbeard" has found its way into Oxford Dictionary:

1. A growth of hair on a man's neck, especially when regarded as indicative of poor grooming. ‘I can picture myself wearing these clothes a week from now, bits of food caught in my overgrown neckbeard’

1.1 A man who is socially inept and physically unappealing, especially one who has an obsessive interest in computing. ‘I know people expect me to be some sort of balding, overweight neckbeard’

Of course, we can't blame Oxford Dictionary for simply reporting how the term is commonly used, and it's true that the pejorative use is common. But why not also include examples of the term "neckbeard" used neutrally, simply to refer to the beard style? The wiktionary entry is phrased with rather less bias:

1. A style of facial hair wherein the beard is allowed to grow down the chin and is trimmed to an even length over the entirety of the face.

2. (slang) A nerd; a dweeb. 

Neckbeards of Wisconsin

I've recently been browsing the photographic collection of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Lots of great neckbeards in there!