Every nation on earth has its clowns. The ones most of us on AB would be familiar with are the European clowns. There are actually several types of clowns. The most common are the Auguste, the White Face and the Sad tramp/Happy Hobo. I found a site which goes through the types and their history. Here is what it says for the White Face: The whiteface is the oldest style of clown, dating back to Greek theatre. Contrary to popular belief, the clown does NOT wear make up to hide or disguise his figures, but rather to reveal them. In Greek theatre, lighting was poor (compared to modern day theater), and so a white background with black markings served well to illuminate the actor’s features. A well-known ancestor of the whiteface is the court jester of the middle ages (though authentic court jesters often performed with little or no make-up at all). The comedy troupe of the commedia del arté popularized several clown characters, including Pierrot, Columbine, Harleqin and Clown (yes, that was the character’s name!), all of whom where originally masked characters, several of whom eventually evolved into whiteface clowns. A major subtype of the whiteface has also evolved. Unlike the court jester or classic whiteface, who can be considered quite intelligent (given a clown’s unique perspective ;), the "Comedy" or "Grotesque Whiteface" is more buffoonish, with more outlandish and mismatching clothing, and a more exaggerated style. In the comedic partnership of Abbot & Costello, Bud Abbot would have been a classic whiteface; Lou Costello either a comedy whiteface, or an Auguste. http://www.clown-ministry.com/index_1.php?/site/articles/clown_types_the_white_face_clown_the_whitefaced_clown/ and the Augustes: In the 20th century, the two clowns who had the most impact on the development of the Auguste were probably Albert Fratellini and Lou Jacobs. Albert Fratellini, as one of the famous Fratellini Brothers, created a character who served as an in-between from one brother's classic whiteface and another brother's tramp character. He also introduced the red nose, which has since become synonymous with clowns. Lou Jacobs, over a lifetime spent with Ringling Brothers circus developed and fine-tuned both his own clown character, and much of the 'character' of the Auguste. It is to these two that we owe the foundation of the modern Auguste. There is a widely told legend about the origins of the Auguste clown. According to the legend, an American acrobat named Tom Belling was performing with a circus in Germany in 1869. Confined to his dressing room as punishment for missing his cues, he entertained his friends by putting on misfitting clothes to perform his impression of the show's manager. The manager suddenly entered the room. Belling took off running, ending up in the circus arena where he fell over the ring curb. In his embarrassment and haste to escape, he fell over the ring curb again on his way out. The audience yelled, "auguste!" which is German for fool. The manager commanded that Belling continue appearing as the Auguste. Most serious historians doubt that the legend is true. For one thing, the word Auguste did not exist in the German language until after the character became popular. One of the theories of the actual origin is that Belling copied the character from the R'izhii (Red Haired) clowns he saw when he toured Russia with a circus. Characters like the auguste certainly existed previously. Whether or not he was the first, Belling was not very successful as an Auguste and soon left clowning to perform as a magician. There exists a European variation of the Auguste, which is more of an "Everyman" character -- who might wander onto the stage or into the ring. Rollie McBain is an example of this character, as is the inebriate played by Charlie Chaplin. http://www.clown-ministry.com/index_1.php?/site/articles/clown_types_the_auguste_clown/ and the Tramps: The sad tramp/happy hobo are primarily American inventions, though Charlie Chaplin’s "little tramp" had European origins as well. Visually, the happy hobo/sad tramp was based on the American hobo riding the rails, wiping the soot away from the mouth & eyes to create the typical tramp look. Famous tramp & hobo clowns include Don Burda’s Homer, Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp, Emmett Kelly’s Weary Willy, Red Skelton’s Freddy the Freeloader http://www.clown-ministry.com/index_1.php?/articles/sad_tramps_happy_hobos_and_other_clown_character_types/ Hope this helps. I am a white face basically, though in Australia, it gets very hot to wear the full makeup. :-)