Naturally blond hair is rare in humans and found almost exclusively in Europe 
and Oceania. Here, we identify an arginine-to-cysteine change at a highly 
conserved residue in tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1) as a major determinant 
of blond hair in Solomon Islanders. This missense mutation is predicted to 
affect catalytic activity of TYRP1 and causes blond hair through a recessive 
mode of inheritance. The mutation is at a frequency of 26% in the Solomon 
Islands, is absent outside of Oceania, represents a strong common genetic effect 
on a complex human phenotype, and highlights the importance of examining genetic 
associations worldwide.