This photo is being shared online claiming to show Hans Staininger (or Steininger) who died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.
It does not.
Hans Staininger (or Steininger) really existed and he had a very long beard that indeed killed him when he tripped over it and broke his neck… in 1567.
He was the mayor of Braunau am Inn in Austria, yes the birthplace of Hitler.
This should tell you that the man on the photo can’t be him as photography was not invented till about 250 years later!
So this picture really shouldn’t have fooled you, the clothes, it being a photograph, all that should have made you realise this image can’t be from the 16th century.
But then, who is the man on the photo?
This is Hans Nilson Langseth who was born on July 14, 1846 in Norway and who holds the record for the world’s longest beard.
When he died in 1927 (not because he tripped) he was 81 and his beard measured 5.33 m (17 ft 6 in).
It was presented to the Smithsonian Institution in 1967.
Besides not crediting the artist and owner of the pictures people are sharing them online without mentioning (or even realising) that the description is incorrect and that they are thus spreading fake history.
If you see the picture(s) shared online with the incorrect description, please direct the person posting it to this article.
Picture(s) found online, used for (re-)educational purposes only.
I
do not own the copyrights to this picture, I only share it here for
educational purposes to try and make sure the real story behind it
becomes known and people will stop spreading false information.
Sources;
Wikipedia
Vintage Everyday
Guinness book of records
STSTW
