I wish you all the best for a Happy New Year 2026! Let’s do our best for ourselves and for others.
And keep growing those beards! Happy beard growing and Happy 2026!
Born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 26, 1871, James Sturgis Pray was raised and educated in the Boston area. His landscape architecture career was also based in the Boston area. He was a pioneering leader who helped develop the foundation for formal education programs in the field of landscape architecture and guided the profession in its early stages.
James Sturgis Pray was married in 1901 to Florence Mabel Nichols. The couple had two children: Benjamin Sturgis Pray and Frances Motley Pray.
James Sturgis Pray apparently was an avid beard grower. It’s unknown when he grew his first beard and whether he remained bearded continuously from there on out. In the handful of photos that I found of him, he always had his big walrus mustache along with some form of beard. The photo of Pray in this post shows him fully bearded, with the walrus mustache. Other photos have shown him apparently with only the mustache and a goatee. At least one photo showed him with the walrus mustache, the goatee, and with the rest of the beard and sideburns maintained as thick stubble.
The photo above was published in various newspapers in 1916. That was thirteen years before his passing in 1929.
Young Pray was an outstanding and popular student.
During 1897 and 1898, while at Harvard, Pray pursued specialized studies at the Lawrence Scientific school and Bussey Institute. These studies helped to pave the way for establishing the new profession of landscape architecture.
Overlapping with Pray’s private practice was his growing career as an educator at Harvard. Starting in 1903 as an Assistant in Landscape Architecture, he became an Instructor in 1903, an Assistant Professor in 1905, Department Chairman in 1908, and then Chairman of the Council of the new Graduate School of Landscape Architecture. In 1915 he was appointed the Charles Eliot Professor of Landscape Architecture, a position he held until his 1929 passing. Earlier, in 1928 he resigned as the graduate school chairman for health reasons.
Professor Pray was not only a trailblazer in the creation of educational programs for the emerging field of landscape architecture, but he also taught the first course in the United States on the subject of city planning. This first course led to the development of a degree program in city planning at Harvard. Professor Pray also supported education programs for women and encouraged them to enter the field of landscape architecture.
Professor Pray was involved in a wide variety of activities related to landscape architecture and nature.
Professor Pray was a true pioneer in the development of the field of landscape architecture and the educational programs to maintain and advance it. His leadership was exemplary. His influence spread far and wide. His students spread his teachings even further. They demonstrated and taught Professor Pray’s ideas by:
The results of Professor Pray’s teachings can be seen through his own realized projects as well as those of his students who were taught by his students. His ideas continued to be passed on to generations of students beyond. He left behind a remarkable legacy of landscape architecture with the beauty of nature.
As part of the Retro Beards project here on All About BEARDS, I am trying out colorizing antique photos that are available only in black and white. While the colors cannot be verified for accuracy, they give an idea of how the subject might look in color. Professor Pray, here, is the first example.
After an extended unexpected delay, Retro Beards is just now getting started. This is only the beginning. A lot more is on the way. There is a lot that we can learn from Retro Beards, our beard history.
Header photo at top of post: Professor Pray against a background photo of the remarkable Gilroy Gardens in Gilroy, California. Gilroy Gardens photo: All About BEARDS.
Welcome, new beard growers!
First things first: Put “shaving” at the top of your “Things Not To Do” list. Stop shaving. No apologies. No hesitation. No doubts. Stop shaving and start growing your beard.
If anyone asks about your surprising new growth, tell them that you’re growing your beard to raise awareness for men’s health issues. Engage them in a conversation on the topic.
There is no need to wait for someone to ask about your growing beard. Speak up and tell them. Tell everyone. Also be sure to encourage all other men to support the cause and grow their beards as well. Even if they get a late start in the month of November, it’s never too late to start growing!
To assist all new beard growers on how to grow their beards right and avoid common mistakes, be sure to visit our handy guide to how to grow your beard.
Already bearded? Awesome. You can also participate in No-Shave November by encouraging other men to join the movement and grow their beards. You can also donate to men’s health charities and encourage others to do so.
The bigger purpose of No-Shave November is to raise awareness for men’s health issues. Special attention focuses on:
Bearded men should note that it’s important to have the skin under their beards thoroughly examined for early signs of skin cancer.
For more detailed information on all of the above, see our complete guide to No-Shave November.
To nudge you along and help get you started on your No-Shave November beard growing, here is a thirty-two second beard-growing public service announcement from our archives featuring Scott.
Happy beard growing!
It was just an ordinary day. But before the sun would rise the next morning, nothing for me would ever be the same.
I don’t want to go into the details. I just want to give an overview of why the site has been on hold for most of the year.
Everything was normal. The daily routine was going along as usual. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. I had no idea of the traumatic event that would come seemingly from out of nowhere.
Tragedy can happen at any time. It’s easy to think that it won’t. But it can and it does. And it can happen without warning. A lack of warning makes it seem that much worse.
In a matter of minutes, without warning, my life was changed forever. It almost didn’t seem to be real. Then, as if I’d been hit by lightning, I plunged into a severe state of shock along with strong doses of denial and despair.
The shock and intense grief would be long lasting. In search of relief, I would attempt to pursue normal-ish activities, including the development of new content for All About BEARDS. I made some progress on this for a little while, but many more unexpected troubles were brewing.
Before long, I started to experience an onslaught of calamity upon calamity, setback upon setback. I was still in mourning and began to be hit with big troubles and daunting challenges at a rate and on a scale I could not have imagined. Once this sequence got underway, I had to set aside all thoughts about the website.
Next up was the escalation phase during which the severity of everything just kept getting worse and worse, to the point where I could barely believe that all of this was really happening. But it was.
At times, I didn’t think that I would make it through all this. Every aspect of my identity and being was seriously challenged. However, with loving support from family and true friends along with my faith in God, I was able to press forward and finally experience a breakthrough. From that point, I began my recovery phase. Thanks be to God.
So, I got up. I am back on my feet, ready to get to a new normal. However, the recovery process has been slower and more difficult than I expected. Nevertheless, I am thankful with all my heart.
Those nearest to me encourage and remind me to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, to keep moving forward one step at a time.
Now it’s time for me to get back to All About BEARDS again. I’ve finally come up for air and am ready to get going again. I am eager to start rolling out the RETRO Beards project that I announced early in the year. And I will get back to producing other content for the site as well. I can’t guarantee the speed of production, especially at first. I still have a lot of other deferred work items that I have to handle. But I will be putting up new content more and more as things get more back to “normal”.
Remind yourself daily to appreciate good times and calm waters. Appreciate your family and friends every day. Be kind to yourself and to others. Remember that showing kindness to others is free.
Your good times can always be interrupted by powerful storms. Do your best to be ready for them.
The arduous journey I’ve been on since late last year has given me many hard lessons. However, many developments along the way have been true blessings and some have been nothing short of miraculous. For all these things I am thankful. I’m also thankful for family and true friends as well as everyone else who helped get me through this.
Regarding All About BEARDS, I am thankful for the opportunity to now resume promoting beards to all. Grow your beards in peace and in health. Encourage others to do the same.
Take care, be well, and be happy. Thanks be to God.
Steven
Awesome beards from the past can inspire present and future awesome beards. All About BEARDS is proud to announce the launch of our RETRO Beards feature! We will take an in-depth look back at all sorts of magnificent beards from the past with an emphasis on beards from the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century.
The early days of widespread photography were in the nineteenth century, a century which could be considered the glory days of epic beard growing. Beards were abundant and bold. These men did not hesitate to grow massive beards and mustaches in every imaginable style, from the common classics to creative and unconventional styles.
This incredible golden age of beard growing quickly faded away after the turn of the century, especially after 1910. In our lifetimes we have not seen such prolific beard growth. But we could. And we should! Let’s do it!
RETRO Beards on All About BEARDS will present beards from the past on a regular basis to honor them and for these beards to inspire you and others to grow your beards freely without holding back. Even if you are not ready to go all out, we still want to inspire you to grow whatever beard you are comfortable with for starters!
RETRO Beards will include well-known bearded men from the past along with not-so-well-known men as well as unidentified men, whose stories have been lost to history. We want to showcase and honor these legendary beard growers from all walks of life whether they are famous or unknown. As more of these bygone beards are added to the site, they will be gathered into a dedicated gallery of antique beards.
To get started, let’s take a quick look at a prominent beard grower from the past.
George Foster Peabody (1852-1938) was born in Columbus, Georgia USA. Impoverished by the US Civil War, Peabody’s family relocated to Brooklyn, New York by the time George was in his early teens.
George started working in Brooklyn as a young teenager. Eventually he got involved in investment banking. Peabody became a partner in a New York investment banking firm where he was known for managing the firm’s investments in railroad construction.
George also turned his attention to philanthropic support for education. He served as a board member for multiple educational institutions and as treasurer for others. He supplied funds for new buildings and educational programs at these institutions.
Peabody was awarded honorary degrees from Harvard University, Washington and Lee University, and the University of Georgia. In honor of Peabody’s service to the University of Georgia, the university’s journalism school established the prestigious Peabody Awards in his name.
Beard type: full beard including large walrus mustache
Beard characteristics:
Remarks: George F. Peabody’s full beard was a striking, trademark feature of his appearance. Photos show him with his beard at various ages all the way through to old age. His big full beard with natural neck line, walrus mustache, and high and sometimes natural cheek line was accepted as a professional appearance for a prominent New York investment banker and philanthropist.
About his beard’s cheek line, I’ve seen it higher in other photos. In the photo above, the cheek line has been lowered a bit and runs almost horizontally from the mustache to the sideburns. Other photos reveal the cheek line joining the mustache just a tad higher up and running from there along an upward angle to reach the sideburns.
How to grow your beard like George’s beard: Keep in mind that George was blessed with abundant beard growth. Not every beard will have the same look. That’s a reminder that every beard is unique, no two are alike. Knowing this, you can try growing your own version of George’s beard and see how it turns out. You may be pleasantly surprised.
The steps are pretty simple.
Need more beard-growing info to get started? See our guide on how to grow a beard.
Why bother looking at beards from so long ago? There are many reasons.
All About BEARDS invites you to stay tuned and stay with us as our parade of RETRO Beards begins.
Even with beards today enjoying much greater acceptance and prevalence, a lot of beard-growing reluctance remains. We should have a lot more beard growers! And beard growers should grow without holding back!
Let’s learn from these bearded men, beard pioneers, who grew before us. They left us a legacy of powerful beard growing. Let’s harness the power of RETRO Beards and embrace the freedom to grow our beards however we like! Look BACK. Grow FORWARD!
Post header photo credits: Background image: Canyonlands National Park, Utah by All About BEARDS. RETRO Beards portraits: All About BEARDS collection.
All About BEARDS was the first website exclusively devoted to all aspects of beards. The site was launched to raise awareness, acceptance, and appreciation of beards. It is just as important that All About BEARDS was also created to be a place where anyone interested in beards and growing a beard could find helpful information about beards along with encouragement and inspiration.
The main message of All About BEARDS was to say to the world that beards are worthy of appreciation, and it is natural for potential beard growers to be curious about beards and seek information about beards.
Right from the start, All About BEARDS proclaimed that beards deserve respect, acceptance, and even admiration. The site set out to change hearts and minds about beards to reduce widespread anti-beard bias. All About BEARDS encouraged all men to boldly grow their beards, leaving all doubt and hesitation behind while dismissing the outcry from anti-beard naysayers. All About BEARDS‘ never-ending campaign to encourage and inspire more men to grow their beards is based on the bedrock principle that the more men there are with beards, the more common beards become. And the more common beards become, greater beard acceptance follows.
Before I started All About Beards, there was something called The Beard and Moustache Page. It resided on a web server at the University of East Anglia in England. Online searches as of today’s date do not show any trace of the existence of The Beard and Moustache Page.
The Beard and Moustache Page was strictly a web forum. It was a page with a running stream of users’ questions, answers, and related discussions about beards and mustaches. It wasn’t a full-fledged website dedicated to beards. Even its name clearly called it a page, not a site.
All About BEARDS was the first standalone website dedicated to being all about beards.
The Beard and Moustache Page is long, long gone and barely remembered at all. Meanwhile, All About BEARDS is still here and still dedicated to its mission to:
All About BEARDS also holds the title of “world’s longest-running beard website”. And it’s been helping men grow more and better beards, worldwide, since January 17, 1996.
All About BEARDS sprouted from San Josรฉ’s Blossom Valley, making its debut on the web on January 17, 1996. The little site was launched on a big mission: to make the world more beard-friendly. It was a tall order. Beards were far less prevalent and far less accepted in 1996 than they are now or even the last couple of decades.
The site’s been named All About BEARDS from the first day, January 17, 1996. Its first home was on America Online (AOL) user webspace at the address members.aol.com/beardguy/. Soon after the site had been established there, I looked into registering a domain specifically for the site. I looked at the beards.org domain and it had not yet been taken. But then I hesitated and didn’t register it immediately. Soon, someone else picked it up.
I was disappointed but accepted that I let it get away. Quite a bit later on, the beards. org domain was put up for auction on eBay in August 2004. By that time, the domain had already changed ownership a few times. I won the eBay auction for the domain. I don’t remember how much I paid. I don’t think it cost me very much.
With the beards.org domain in hand, I quietly started preparations for moving All About BEARDS to beards.org. I don’t know why I took so long. But I launched All About BEARDS at its new home on beards.org on January 20, 2005. And the site has been here ever since, interchangeably known as All About BEARDS or simply beards.org.
Watch for some new surprises on All About BEARDS in 2025. We will be looking back and growing forward.
All About BEARDS‘ key mission is to help pave the way for men everywhere to be free to grow their beards as they see fit. No man should feel shy, reluctant, or not at liberty to grow his beard if he wants to. All About BEARDS is here to help him out, to encourage him, to inspire him, and to make it easier for him to truly experience the Joy of Beard.
Ready to start? Let’s grow!
Happy 2025 to everyone.
It’s the end of 2024. Goodbye to 2024.
Leave it behind and go forward.
Reflect on what you’ve experienced and learned.
Focus now on what’s most important to you.
Do your best every day as we move forward through the new year.
In addition to everything else, let’s encourage more and more men to grow their beards.
Let’s encourage everyone to grow their beards boldly. No shyness, No hesitation. Just grow bold and strong.
Send off 2024 with this classic song:
Goodbye to you, 2024. Goodbye.
Scroll on down for more information to help you make the most of No-Shave November 2024.
Start bearding today! If you’ve always wanted to grow a beard but have been hesitant about it, wait no more. You can stop shaving and start beard-growing today while you’re doing it for a great cause.
No-Shave November gives you instant justification for finally trying out growing your beard. No-Shave November also means that you are not alone in your new beard-growing pursuit. Others you know may be participating in No-Shave November as well. Plus, you should encourage everyone you know to join you as fellow new beard-growers for No-Shave November. Challenge each other to join in and to stay with it.
And when November ends, consider staying with your new beard growth by letting it continue to grow through December and beyond. After all, why let your new beard-growing effort go to waste after only one month?
Be sure to visit our guide on how to grow a beard to help you grow your beard the right way.
No-Shave November aims to put the spotlight on men’s health issues, especially prostate cancer and mental health. You are encouraged to make sure that you are taking care of your own health as well as motivating others to do the same. No-Shave November is also a good time to consider supporting charities that benefit men’s health issues.
Whether you can grow a beard or not, you can participate in No-Shave November’s men’s health efforts. Check out our detailed guide on No-Shave November and men’s health for more information.
What could be better? Helping others to do the same.
Happy No-Shave November 2024. Welcome, new beard growers! Enjoy your beard journey.
We beard growers, beard advocates, and beard fans ought to make the word beard‘s meaning as a verb work better for us!
Words are important. Let’s leverage the power of the word beard.
How is the word beard used as a verb in English? Common dictionary definitions of beard as a verb include:
An older definition of beard as a verb is:
The above definitions for beard as a verb are not commonly used today. How about we add another definition of beard as a verb?
beard
verb
to grow one’s beard
This applies to both new beard growers in their initial stages of the beard growing process as well as to those who continue to grow their established beards.
Examples of usage:
Here are some reasons:
Is it really too much to keep saying “he’s growing his beard” that it needs to be shortened to “he’s bearding”? No. It’s not. We can and should use both “he is growing his beard” and “he’s bearding”. The shorter form is novel and more convenient while the longer form is more conventional.
A form of using the word beard to mean “to grow one’s beard” has already been in use for a number of years. Phrases such as “beard up” and “beard on” are imperatives essentially based on the “to grow one’s beard” definition. These phrases are ways of saying “grow your beard” or “keep growing your beard”. We should expand on this usage even further.
Language is always evolving. How can we add a new definition of beard as a verb? The way to do it is to just start using it. Widely adopted changes in the usage of language are what bring about changes to the language itself.
Whenever you can, say “he’s bearding” instead of “he’s growing his beard”. Or say “you really should beard” instead of “you really should grow your beard”.
Treasure your beard. Enjoy your beard. Enjoy the whole beard experience. Beard: it’s something that we do.
Beard up. Beard on. Beard forever. Let’s do this! Spread the word. Start using this additional meaning of the word beard today. Use it freely and regularly!
Happy bearding!
Your beard gives you a special power. It’s the power to change your appearance in a big way. This can lead to new discoveries and personal development for you as well as various effects on others.
You experienced this when you grew your beard for the first time. Keep in mind that you can multiply this power by changing up your beard whenever you like.
An underappreciated aspect of the Joy of Beard is the option to change up your beard in a variety of ways. This can bring about unexpected positive results. You should consider trying it, even if you are skeptical.
A man’s ability to grow a beard is a special gift, a privilege you might say. Boys cannot grow a beard. They can only dream of someday becoming a man who grows his beard. But not all men are even blessed with the ability to grow a beard. It really is a gift.
Those who are fortunate to be enabled for beard growing should embrace and even love the privilege. They should grow their beards with wholehearted joy.
Above: Barry with a big beard looks completely different from Barry with a short beard. Click or tap on either image to view larger.
When you first grew a beard and abandoned the tedious task of shaving, you revealed your true face. You may have settled on a particular beard style and have stayed with it. If you’re happy with your beard as it is, you may believe that there is no need to even think about changing it. That’s an understandable position to take. But consider stretching out of your comfort zone to try something different with your beard. You may unexpectedly find that you like the new state of your beard even better. This could happen even when trying out a beard style that you may not care for. This happened to me. That’s a story for another post.
Keep in mind that changing up your beard does not mean that you are permanently giving up your current beard style. You can always go back. But it can happen that you decide to stay with the new beard for a long run.
Some ways to change up your beard:
You have the power. Use it!
Changing up your beard changes how you see yourself. A change to your beard may surprise you. The new look may please you way more than you could have expected. Then it happens.
When you look in the mirror and the way your beard looks makes you happy, that is a most awesome feeling. There is true power in that.
Loving the way your beard looks is not a matter of vanity. It’s recognition of the joy that comes from the gift of being able to grow a beard and the many options that it brings. You know it when you look at your beard in the mirror and cannot keep from smiling!
The power of beard happiness strengthens your confidence and instills a positive attitude. You can be inspired to achieve more, to achieve greatness. You can be inspired to help others and do other things that make you a better man.
Changing up your beard can lead you to the power of “beard happiness”. Trying out different changes to your beard can lead you to the beard that makes you feel that happiness and power. You don’t have to make a permanent change. You may end up returning to the way you originally had your beard. But you’ll go back there with a new appreciation. Or you may find a beard style that you like much better and never go back to your original beard style.
A friend recently shared how he feels about changing up one’s beard:
Growing your beard and changing up your beard whenever you like demonstrates pride in who you are. It reflects what’s in your heart.
First, it’s a gift to yourself to grow and change up your beard. It’s fulfilling the promise of the gift of beard that you’ve been given. What you do with your beard shows how you care for yourself and seek change and improvement.Second, your beard and its changing form is an expression of love to share with others by letting them see it. They can see the change in the beard and the change in you. Giving to others, sharing with others enhances yourself and helps others. It’s a circle of virtue.
Your beard is part of who you are and what you can accomplish.
We really mean it when we say that the beard is a gift. It is. And it is up to you to make the most of your gift of beard by using it to enhance yourself and accomplish more. Your beard in all its forms strengthens you by lifting your spirit and hopes, leading you to achieve more for yourself and others.
Above: Scott appears with three beard sizes: short, bigger, and even bigger. Big difference! Click or tap on any image to view larger.
Change up your beard whenever you feel like it. It could be frequently. It could be rarely. Just be open to trying it when the time feels right. You never know where it will lead you. Follow your heart. Do your best always. Love the special power of changing up your beard.
Enjoy and treasure the whole beard experience.
