Moustaches of Empire: John O'Sullivan

"And that claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government entrusted to us." - John L. O'Sullivan

You can't say something that ridiculous without having some variety of beard or moustache(s). I admit the glasses help to make his case as well.

-The Pogonologist

Beards of Empire: Orélie-Antoine de Tounens

Once upon a time, there was a Frenchman with a magnificent beard who declared himself to be King of the Araucanía and Patagonia. "He created a national hymn, a flag, wrote a constitution, appointed ministers of agriculture, education, and defense (among other offices), and had coins minted for his kingdom." Naturally, a court of law (not of his own creation) found him to be quite insane.

After being deported back to France he made no less than three more attempts to assume his rightful place upon the throne of his fabricated dominion. As it happens, the kingdom is still in existence, albeit in exile and embodied in one man, "Prince Phillipe."

For more reading on the Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia, see this website maintained by the NorthAmerican Araucanian Royalist Society (NAARS).

-The Pogonologist