Famous Mustaches in History

American Civil War general Ambrose Burnside is known as the originator of side whiskers, which were later called “sideburns,” a name inspired by his surname. In Burnside’s case, he styled his facial hair to extend across each cheek. The ends of his mustache connected to the start of his hairline near each ear.

Throughout his nearly 30-year career in film, Clark Gable starred in some of Hollywood’s most memorable productions, including Mutiny on the Bounty and Gone with the Wind. Gable wore one of the most famous mustaches in Hollywood during the mid-20th century. His mustache could go in either the “painter’s brush” or the “lampshade” style category.

Admit it—you knew he would make this list. Hitler’s principal role in starting World War II and his state-sponsored killing of millions of Jews made him one of the most hated people in world history. The fascist dictator was also known for his instantly recognizable grooming style. So unmistakable was his “toothbrush” mustache, a type characterized by thick whiskers that span the width of the nose, that it is often called the “Hitler mustache.” After World War II, men across the world abandoned the toothbrush mustache because of its instant association with Hitler. Nowadays, this mustache style is seldom seen.

U.S. President William Howard Taft wore the classic “handlebar” mustache. Although similar in basic design to Salvador Dalí’s mustache (stay tuned), Taft’s was larger and bushier and far less eccentric, with only a slight upward curl.

Composer Ruggero Leoncavallo, known for his opera Pagliacci, sported a large luxurious handlebar mustache, which he trained to grow upward. In the portrait, it appears to span part of his cheeks in addition to his upper lip, and thus it could also be classified as an “imperial” mustache, using the American Mustache Institute’s guide.

As far as mustaches go, Groucho Marx’s was likely one of the most famous on the planet. His distinctive wide mustache might have fallen into the American Mustache Institute’s “walrus” or “chevron” categories, but, so far, it has defied classification. It was a large part of the entertainer’s signature style, along with his glasses, eyebrows, and nose—all of which were later popularized in a novelty toy that still appears in stores today. The classic "Groucho mustache," which Groucho sported in the Marx Brothers films, was made with greasepaint; however, he later grew a real mustache for his TV quiz show You Bet Your Life.

Charles Napier was best known for his exploits in India prior to and during British rule there. Going by Napier’s portrait, he had a bushy “English” mustache, a type in which long whiskers are pulled right and left under the nose.

It’s very probable that Salvador Dalí was known as much for his unusual waxed mustache as for his Surrealist paintings. His art often depicts a dreamworld in which commonplace objects are juxtaposed, deformed, or otherwise metamorphosed in a bizarre and irrational fashion. His trademark waxed mustache, which the American Mustache Institute places in a category called “Dalí,” is narrow, with long pointed ends that train steeply upward. Dalí’s corpse was exhumed in 2017, some 28 years after his death, so that forensics experts could collect DNA as part of a paternity suit. They discovered that his mustache was still intact.