The latest in TIR’s annual celebration of some great minds and the great moustaches that went (just) before them. Links to instalments I-VI can be found at the end for real moustache aficionados.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, the Movember Foundation is a charity focused on men’s health issues – prostate cancer, testicular cancer, suicide prevention, and mental health in particular. “Mo Bros” grow moustaches – sometimes dashing, sometimes daft – for the 30 days of November in order to help raise awareness of these issues. It’s fun, and it’s an important cause that TIR is proud to support (and participate in!) each year.

PHYSICIST MOUSTACHES

Name: Allvar Gullstrand 🇸🇪
Known for: Applying physical mathematics to the study of optical images, and examining how light refracts in the eye. Did extensive work on astigmatism and also improved the ophthalmoscope. Does he really count as a physicist, especially seeing as he won the Nobel Prize in Biology and Medicine? Well, optics is unquestionably a branch of physics, and few biologists would be able to follow his papers.
Moustache: At first glance it looks like a Chevron, but examine it more closely and you’ll see it’s actually an unorthodox Pyramid with rather daringly extended tips. 
Moustache rating: 7/10. This is a thing of real beauty. Gullstrand’s neat, well-maintained ‘tache perfectly complements his side parting and immaculate hair, but the substance of it gives his face a maturity and gravity it would otherwise lack. A perfect example of how well-chosen facial hair can enhance an otherwise boyish complexion.

Name: Edward Bouchet 🇺🇸
Known for: Being, in 1876, the first African-American to earn a doctorate in the USA. Also one of the first African-Americans to graduate from Yale. Because of racial discrimination he never held a position at a university or research institution and spent 26 years teaching at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia. 
Moustache: It’s so thin at the centre it could conceivably be a pencil, but there’s enough ambiguity to rule it out. Instead, I’m going to tag this with one of the rarest of labels: the Fu Manchu.
Moustache rating: 5/10. In later life Bouchet grew a more conventional Handlebar, which perhaps suited his features better so we can attribute his Fu Manchu to a period of youthful experimentation. It’s got more going for it than perhaps the photo communicates – Bouchet has heavy eyebrows and prominent hair, so the dainty bit of facial hair on his top lip provides a visual counterpoint but without drawing attention too far down the face.

Name: Arnold Sommerfeld 🇩🇪
Known for: Being the godfather of theoretical physics in Germany, mentoring an entire generation of scientists (including 7 future Nobel prize-winners). Instrumental in theoretical physics outpacing experimental physics in the early 20th century, and recognised as one of the founders of quantum mechanics. Oh, and for being nominated for the Nobel Prize in physics a whopping 84 times without ever winning (a record in physics).
Moustache: The bushy ends and luxuriant growth mark this out as a Hungarian.
Moustache rating: 6/10. Another one whose moustache varied throughout his life, and whose style became more tamed over the years, but at this stage of his life it is more of a missed opportunity than a hit. With his forceful gaze and high forehead, what Sommerfeld needs is something focused and powerful to complement the top half of his face, but the frizzly ends of the ‘tache dissipate any effect it might have in this regard.

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CHEMIST MOUSTACHES

Name: Henry Louis Le Chatelier 🇫🇷
Known for: Le Chatelier’s principle, familiar to many a student chemist: a system always acts so as to oppose a change in a chemical equilibrium. Also for nearly discovering how to combine gaseous nitrogen and hydrogen to produce ammonia, something that Fritz Haber (link to Movember 2017 #1) eventually perfected. Le Chatelier lamented his failure to synthesise ammonia “the greatest blunder of my scientific career”.
Moustache: Chevron, and a textbook example of it. Bushy growth that extends beyond the corners of the mouth and even covers the top lip.
Moustache rating: 8/10. Sommerfeld should have taken some notes from this guy. The brash, aggressive chevron is a perfect match for the intense expression and the the ultra-modern buzz cut. The shaved sides of his head force the eyes towards the more potent growth around his mouth, keeping your attention centred on the front of his face. I bet if he told someone to be quiet they’d be struck dumb for ten minutes or more.

Name: Debashis Mukherjee 🇮🇳
Known for: His work on coupled cluster theories for the study of electronic structure, and other contributions to quantum chemistry. Has helped develop many-body methods in this area, notably multireference couple cluster formalisms.
Moustache: The angled corners and shaved top lip identify this as a Lampshade.
Moustache rating: 4/10. The rather ruffled appearance of the moustache is certainly in keeping with the relaxed hairdo, but it’s just a bit too insubstantial to do itself justice. With those kindly eyes and friendly expression, a larger growth would actively enhance his appearance instead of merely matching it.

Name: Takamine Jokichi 🇯🇵
Known for: Isolating and purifying adrenaline, also for isolating the enzyme takadiastase, which catalyses the breakdown of starch. A self-made multi-millionaire thanks to his canny licensing of the exclusive production rights to takadiastase to an American pharma company, he also dedicated his life to fostering good relations between the USA and Japan. 
Moustache: Handlebar, and you’re not likely to find a better example of it anywhere. 
Moustache rating: 10/10. There should be a picture of this guy in every single barbershop in the world. Impeccably styled, with the top lip kept free, no stray hairs around the nose, and those magnificently styled tips that scream both substance and style. Manliness and virility personified.

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BIOLOGIST MOUSTACHES

Name: Gary Ruvkun 🇺🇸
Known for: Elucidating the mechanisms of microRNA regulation of gene expression, as well as identifying let-7, the second microRNA to be recognised. Has also made major contributions to the field of insulin-like signalling, particularly in the context of ageing, and is part of the Search for Extraterrestrial Genomes (SETG).
Moustache: Painter’s brush. It’s thick, covers the full width of the mouth, but the top lip is kept clear and the corners are rounded. 
Moustache rating: 8/10. This is the look that Mukherkee should be going for. Ruvkin’s got the carelessly tousled hair that signals he’s a thinker, but the combination of volume and styling under his nose makes that impression powerful and dynamic. He looks like a man on a mission, which, with SETG, he is.

Name: Hulusi Behçet 🇹🇷
Known for: Describing Behçet’s disease, an incurable condition caused by inflammation of blood vessels. Also heavily involved in syphilis and leishmaniasis work, but still found time to translate scientific articles into Turkish so that young Turkish scientists could access the latest research. 
Moustache: Toothbrush.
Moustache rating: 1/10. Even before Hitler took it off the table as a style choice, the Toothbrush was always a terrible configuration. It’s like a Brazilian wax for men, but neither appealing nor sexy. It’s a facial exclamation mark, a punchline to a horrible visual gag (presumably why Chaplin got away with it), or a weird combination of insecurity and over-attentiveness. It’s a shame, because Behçet clearly has the capacity for a decent growth, but he’s chosen to limit himself.

Name: Eric Wieschaus 🇺🇸
Known for: His work on the genetic control of embryonic development, particularly the role of “zygotically” active genes that are transcribed in the early embryo. Together with Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard he was involved in the legendary “Heidelberg screen” – a blueprint for large-scale mutagenesis screens.
Moustache: Walrus. Thick scraggly growth that completely obscures the top lip, with droopy hairs. 
Moustache rating: 6/10. It’s a nice match for the hair and eyebrows, and although it’s a low-maintenance look, it fits with the whole ensemble.

Mo fan? Want mo’ Mo’s?
Then click on the links for more “Great scientists, great moustaches” from 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025!

More information on the Movember Foundation and its work can be found here.