Hans Nilsen Langseth, also known as King Whiskers, holds the record for the longest beard at 17 feet 6 inches, though his descendants argue it was actually a foot longer. After immigrating from Norway to Iowa as a child, Langseth began growing his beard at 19 to participate in a local contest and never shaved it off. Like many in the mid-1800s, he was a farmer, and even a grain of wheat was found among his beard’s strands. He briefly joined a circus, but the constant tugging from curious spectators soon wore him out.
In his later years, Langseth attempted to trim his beard but couldn’t bring himself to finish, resulting in a narrower beard for the unfinished portion. His beard acts as a timeline of his life, with the brown parts representing his youth and the blonder sections his older age. Since beard hair typically grows to a maximum of four or five feet before dying, Langseth would mat the dead hair together like dreadlocks and keep it tucked under his vest.
Tragically, in 1927, Langseth died after stepping on his beard, falling, and breaking his neck. His final wish was for his beard to be cut off and preserved after his open-casket funeral. His son honored this request, cutting off the beard except for the disputed extra foot. The beard was stored in a box and forgotten until a relative rediscovered it and donated it to the Smithsonian.