Seven Famous American Gingers


1. Christopher Columbus


The first European to discover the western world was a ginger.

2. George Washington


The first President of the United States was a ginger as a young man. This fact often gets overlooked as he also used to powder his hair white, giving him the iconic look that we still associate with him today.

3. Andrew Jackson


Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States and was nicknamed "Old Hickory." He was tall, with penetrating blue eyes and a shock of unruly ginger hair. He is now probably most famous for his opposition to the National Bank, believing it to increase the fortunes of an "elite circle" at the expense of the rest of the country.

4. Martin Van Buren


Van Buren was the 8th President of the United States. He was only five and a half feet tall and had ginger hair and sideburns. He was nicknamed "the Little Magician" and the "the Red Fox of Kinderhook," partly because of his appearance and partly because of his political astuteness.

5. Thomas Jefferson


Thomas Jefferson was pretty much the architect of modern America and served as President from 1801 to 1809. He also drafted the American Declaration of Independence. He was apparently very tall and bony in appearance with ginger hair and a sprightly step. He also had a penchant for wearing red breeches, which were often ridiculed by his political opponents.

6. Mark Twain


“I would have loved to live in the time of Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth, the best dressed period of the world. You know I like color and flummery and all such things--I was born red-headed--maybe that accounts for my passion for the gorgeous and ornamental.”
- quoted in Abroad with Mark Twain and Eugene Field

7. Calvin Coolidge


Calvin Coolidge was the 30th American president. Here is one of the many great Calvin Coolidge quotes, “Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is evil. Our great hope lies in developing what is good.”