List of Presidents of the United States with facial hair

The majority of men who have held the office of President of the United States have been clean shaven, including the Founding Fathers. Between 1861 and 1913, however, all but two presidents wore either beards or mustaches during their tenure in office.

John Quincy Adams (1825–29) was the first U.S. President to have notable facial hair, with long sideburns. But the first major departure from the tradition of smooth-faced chief executives was Abraham Lincoln (1861–65), who was supposedly (and famously) influenced by 11-year-old Grace Bedell to start growing a beard shortly before he was elected. After Lincoln, all but two presidents over the next 50 years sported facial hair, the exceptions being Andrew Johnson (1865–69) and William McKinley (1897–1901).

Beards and mustaches fell out of favor due to health reasons, as described on the PBS website pertaining to a documentary on tuberculosis: "Most men at the turn of the (20th) century featured stylish beards or mustaches, but showing off a smooth face became a new trend once public health officials maintained that men could transmit dangerous infectious particles through the scruff of their facial hair. An editorial in a 1903 Harper's Weekly stated, 'Now that consumption is no longer consumption, but tuberculosis, and is not hereditary but infectious…the theory of science is that the beard is infected with the germs of tuberculosis.' Ultimately, the clean-shaven look became a symbol of the new middle-class man during the period that Harper's Weekly labeled 'the revolt against the whisker.'"

The most recent president to have facial hair throughout his presidency was William Howard Taft (1909–1913), who wore a mustache.Harry Truman briefly grew a temporary mustache and goatee (which he jokingly referred to as a "Jeff Davis") while vacationing in Key West, Florida, after the 1948 presidential election.

...
Wikipedia