A white goatee on a chiseled face. Bushy eyebrows over burning eyes ... These attributes belonged to Uncle Sam, as seen in the famed “I want YOU for U.S. Army” poster that helped recruit ...

That face U.S. illustrator Flagg used Leete’s design as the basis for his poster. And he used his own visage as the model for his bushy-eyebrowed take on Uncle Sam. Read more in TIME’s new ...

Was Uncle Sam a real person? Uncle Sam was based on a real person—at least, according to the government-sanctioned version of the symbol’s history. His name was Sam Wilson (yes, like The ...

Flagg used a modified version of his own face to depict Uncle Sam. On this day in 1961, Congress recognized Wilson as “the progenitor of America’s national symbol of Uncle Sam.” He was laid ...

A white goatee on a chiseled face. Bushy eyebrows over burning eyes ... These attributes belonged to Uncle Sam, as seen in the famed “I want YOU for U.S. Army” poster that helped recruit ...

A white goatee on a chiseled face. Bushy eyebrows over burning eyes ... These attributes belonged to Uncle Sam, as seen in the famed "I want YOU for U.S. Army" poster that helped recruit legions ...