The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has paid tribute to William Morris, the great Victorian beard wearer, who was born on 24th March 1834.
The campaigners say Morris is the hirsute link between the beards of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and that the great twentieth century socialist beard wearers such as Lenin and Trotsky.
Morris grew his beard in 1856 and kept it for the last 40 years of his life. It was as much a part of the man as his fiery temper, socialist politics and love of ancient buildings.
BLF organiser Keith Flett said, when he died in 1896 his doctor said he died simply of being William Morris and his beard was an integral part of that
Leave a Reply