Abraham Lincoln

Today is the 151^st anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln’s speech made in an era when some politicians could without irony be called Statesmen, and could speak eloquently.

Although his has become about the best-known face in American history, he was self-conscious about what he thought his ugliness. He grew his famous beard in response to a letter from a young girl who suggested it might improve his appearance. (And so I suppose his chances of election by a trivial-minded public).

When a rival candidate for the presidency publicly accused him of being ‘two-faced’ he turned to the audience and said ‘If I had two faces, do you think I would use this one?’

Here are two pictures of him, one with beard, one without. To be fair, I suspect the aspect ratio of the beardless photo has gone wrong somewhere.