To emphasize Franklin's foreignness and lack of pomp, Bertolazzi used regular movie makeup on Douglas, forgoing prosthetics entirely, and worked with the actor's real hair, which he grew out for the part. Throughout all eight episodes, Franklin dons neither a speck of powder nor a single hairpiece.
Even though wigs were fashionable, George Washington kept his own hair. He kept his hair long and tied back in a queue, or ponytail. Although he didn't wear a wig, George Washington did powder his hair, giving it the iconic white color seen in famous portraits. Powdering one's hair was another custom of the time.
John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) also wore a powdered wig in his youth, but he abandoned this fashion while serving as the U.S. Minister to Russia (1809–1814), long before his accession to the presidency in 1825.
To cover his baldplate and keep his head warm, Ben brought a fur cap with him to France.
He usually dressed modestly, foregoing the powdered wigs and ruffled shirts of his peers for unstyled hair and coarse, homespun suits.
It is a local tradition for tourists and other visitors to toss pennies on Benjamin Franklin's burial site. As both a symbol of good luck as well as a nod to Franklin's motto that “a penny saved is a penny earned.” #PhillyMarathon.
Being a revolutionary in every sense of the word, Napoleon modelled his look after the Caesars of ancient Rome. Intentional or not (probably intentional), he resurrected a new look for rulers: tousled locks, ear length, leaving the wig powder for the head's in Robespierre's baskets.
John Adams had a sweet tooth and tried to cure diseases by throwing up, which caused him to lose a number of teeth. Because he refused to wear dentures, it was difficult to understand him when he spoke. Thomas Jefferson kept his teeth in remarkably good condition for the era.
However, the next four Presidents, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe did indeed wear wigs. Women also wore wigs, although the proliferation of wig-wearing was not as far-reaching in the United Kingdom as it was in France, where women like Marie Antoinette were famous for their wigs.
Despite generous applications of fragrance, the animal fats used in these pomades must have soon become rancid, further attracting fleas and lice, especially once combined with a ton of powder concocted with wheat flour or dried white clay, which alone could weigh up to two pounds.
Even the grandeur of the royal court couldn't protect its inhabitants from these persistent pests. In fact, Louis XIV of France, known as the Sun King, was said to have shaved his head and taken to wearing wigs to combat a lice infestation - a fashion that later spread throughout Europe.
For years, television personality and talk show host Oprah Winfrey wore wigs on film and for cover shoots for O Magazine. Some weighed up to 3.5-pounds! Though Oprah got her start as a journalist and media personality, she rapidly became a fashion icon as well.
George Washington is the only US president to have never occupied the White House. In New York and then later in Philadelphia, the Washingtons occupied a series of grand houses, where they received members of Congress, officials, foreign dignitaries, and other prominent people according to a standing weekly schedule.
The story states that Lincoln grew his full beard (sans mustache) at the behest of a young girl while he was on the campaign trail. Not only is he our first ginger president, but it seems that he was also our first wig-less president.
Those two issues combined might have been what caused him to lose all his teeth, not to mention the lack toothbrushes or the standard hygiene techniques of today. He refused to wear fake ones, resulting in a lisp when speaking. President Lincoln was rarely photographed smiling with his teeth.
Great success and great misery come with the bipolar life, and the Adamses had their share of both. John Adams is believed by many to have had bipolar II disorder. Thomas Jefferson described him as “sometime absolutely mad.” But Jefferson had a bitter and intense political rivalry with Adams.
Teeth Around the World: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
With a DMFT (decayed, missing, or filled teeth) index score of 0.4, Danish citizens have pretty perfect teeth. Germany, Finland, Sweden, and the UK all have scores below 1.0, making them the five countries with the healthiest teeth.
Arsenic was present in Napoleon's hair before he arrived on Saint Helena and the findings at necropsy are consistent only with the diagnosis of ulcerating, regionally invasive, gastric carcinoma.
George Washington did not wear a powdered wig. He powdered his own hair (otherwise a light brown) to make it appear so.
It has been claimed, based on no evidence, that Napoleon hid his hand because it had been deformed in battle. There's another idea that he was constantly pressing on his stomach to alleviate his chronic pain, which at least makes more sense as he is thought to have succumbed, in 1821, to stomach cancer.
Born on January 17, 1706, to a poor English chandler (a candle and soap maker) living in Boston, Franklin was the 15th of 17 children. Franklin left school at 10 and began an apprenticeship in his brother's print shop at 12.
In lieu of Franklin Pierce, I give you Ben Franklin's final words: "A dying man can do nothing easy," he said, after his daughter asked him to change positions in bed. "Oh, Lord God Almighty, as thou wilt!"
Honoring the scientist, inventor, writer and one of our nation's most recognized founding fathers, the Franklin half dollars were also the last U.S. coin series to be struck entirely in 90% silver. Its reverse features the revered Liberty Bell, a symbol of American freedom.