Items tagged with 'Chester A Arthur'

From the annals of facial hair

Chester A. Arthur portrait by Ole Peter Hansen Balling

On this week commemorating the the 186th birthday of Chester A. Arthur -- Washington County native, Union College grad, 21st President of the United States, current resident of the Albany Rural Cemetery -- let us take a moment to admire Mr. Arthur's facial hair in this 1881 portrait, a work by Ole Peter Hansen Balling that is part of the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

From the accompanying description:

This head-and-shoulders portrait can only hint at the fashionable figure that Arthur cut. With his muttonchop whiskers "trimmed to the perfection point" and his suits made of only the finest fabrics, he invariably looked like the very epitome of the well-bred Victorian gentleman.

By the way: You can search the portrait gallery's collection by facial hair. Really. See: muttonchops.

portrait image via Wikipedia

Gravespotting Chester A. Arthur

chester a arthur grave albany rural cemetery medium

Tucked into Albany Rural Cemetery.

By James Greene, Jr.

Let's face it: not all presidents were created equal. Like Hollywood or the NFL, the American executive lineage is a mixed bag of heralded superstars, shunned failures, and neglected bit players.

Just look at our currency for proof. Is it fair that Lincoln is on both the penny and the five? Maybe Ulysses S. Grant would like a little more face time outside the fifty. Sorry, Grant, but giving African-Americans protected voting rights via the Fifteenth Amendment isn't as epic as ending slavery, so it's just the one bill for you.

And don't get me started on all the stuff named after Washington in this country. The first guy to do anything always gets the lion's share of love. Meanwhile, Rutherford B. Hayes gets jack. The argument that Hayes did not have the same panache as Washington is almost acceptable until you gaze upon the absolutely scrumptious beard the former kept during his reign as president. 'Twas a follicle forest that continues to shame any growth spotted in today's hipster enclaves.

Disparity of popularity between the presidents is also evident in their respective grave sites. The Capital Region boasts a shining example in the grave of Chester A. Arthur, which is tucked deep into the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands.

(there's more)

Someone still loves you Chester A. Arthur

chester a arthur gold dollarNews to us: There are US President $1 coins (like the Sacagawea) -- for which there apparently has been uneven demand because of the tastes of the currency-using public. The Obama admin directed the US Mint to stop producing the coins for circulation at the end of last year after the government accumulated a $1.4 billion surplus of the coins. [USA Today]

But they're still available by special order. And when the coin commemorating Chester A. Arthur -- Washington County native, Union College grad, current resident of the Albany Rural Cemetery -- was issued last month, the Mint got orders for more than 6 million Arthur dollars. [Coin Update]

By the way: a Chester A. Arthur dollar will set you back $1.12 (minimum order: 100) before shipping and handling.

[via Union College]

image: US Mint

The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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