Phyllis Brown
Back in 1904, Louis Coulon made headlines with his extraordinary 11-foot-long beard (3.35 meters) – a record-breaking achievement in France at the time. This wasn’t just a beard; it became a symbol of his eccentric charm and unique personality.
Coulon often delighted people with his creative uses for the beard, including letting his beloved cats nestle within its thick, flowing length. His iconic beard, which he would wash in the Cher River, became a part of French folklore.
From Skilled Metallurgist to Record-Breaking Bearded Legend
Louis Coulon was born in 1826 in Vandenesse, a small village in Nièvre, and followed a family tradition in metallurgy. He started his career at the Châtillon iron foundry, where his father François also worked.
There, Louis learned the art of mold founding and quickly rose through the ranks, later even serving as a union official, advocating for his fellow workers. After some time, he moved to the Saint-Jacques factories in Montluçon, where he spent decades mastering his craft.
Coulon’s dedication to metallurgy earned him the nickname “dean of metallurgists,” a title given to him by Le Petit Journal in 1905. The newspaper honored his incredible 67-year career.
How the beard made him famous
Louis Coulon’s beard is legendary. Known for his impressive facial hair, he reportedly started shaving at just 12, yet his razor couldn’t keep up with the speed of his beard’s growth. By the age of 14, his beard had already reached almost 20 inches in length, growing steadily from there.
By 1904, his beard was said to have reached a jaw-dropping 11 feet long. This extraordinary growth made Coulon a spectacle in his time, as his beard became something of a monument, admired and discussed widely.
With his remarkable beard, he became a sought-after photographic subject from the late 1800s into the early 1900s. His unique look graced dozens of different editions of postcards that were widely published during this time.
Louis Coulon’s fame began in the mid-19th century after he crossed paths with Emperor Napoleon III. His incredible beard drew fascination from both journalists and scientists, who studied and documented his unusual appearance until his passing.
Even if Louis Coulon attained a somewhat famous status,he stayed humble. When a British lord offered him 10,000 francs to travel, he declined, preferring to remain in his small town. This blend of fame and modesty made Coulon a unique figure in his era.
On January 10, 1889, The Journal of Political and Literary Debates wrote an article about Monsieur Coulon, a man whose astonishingly long beard made him a local celebrity.
“Coulon is 1.59 m tall, when he walks he has to support his beard with his hand; he lets it go down to the feet, then raises it on his bent right arm and the beard falls on the other side lower than the knee.
When he wraps it around his neck, it looks like one of those big boas that are so fashionable at the moment.
We wonder if his beard hinders him in his work. But Louis Coulon found a way. He wraps his beard in a sort of mattress, placed on his chest, under his shirt, and in this way is not encumbered in his work.”
Not long after, on February 24, he appeared on the cover of Journal Illustré, capturing public fascination with his remarkable facial hair. By this time, his beard had reached an incredible 3.35 meters (about 11 feet), which he famously washed in the Cher River, flowing through his hometown of Montluçon.
