Everyone that sees male members of our family remarks how alike we all are and we are, I guess. So I decided to put together a picture of five generations of the Thompson line to see if you could discern the similarities. The result is above (you can click on the image for a larger version) and it is a fascinating snapshot of hair trends through the ages spanning some 125 years.

In the image you can see the following starting with my Great-Great-Grandfather (dates are when the photo was taken with an approximate age):

Ernest William Thompson – 1887 (16)

Ernest Alfred Thompson – 1930 (18)

Michael Ernest Thompson – c.1959 (20)

Neil David Thompson – 1987 (22)

Alexander Mark Thompson – 2010 (18)

A few things are clear from this. Firstly, the use of the “Ernest” name thankfully ceased with my father, secondly, I seem to have bucked the trend and inherited my mother’s curls and finally the “hand on chin” cool look has spanned multiple-generations!

So can you see the trend?