Louis Cyr
| Louis Cyr | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Cyprien-Noé Cyr 10 October 1863 Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | 10 November 1912 (aged 49) Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Nationality |
 Canadian
|
| Other names | Canadian Samson |
| Occupation | Strongman |
| Known for | being 'The Strongest Man Who Ever Lived' |
| Height | 5 ft 8.5–10.5 in (174–179 cm) |
| Weight | 270–400 lb (120–180 kg) |
Louis Cyr (French pronunciation: [lwi siʁ]; born Cyprien-Noé Cyr, 10 October 1863 – 10 November 1912) was a famous French Canadian strongman with a career spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His recorded feats, including lifting 500 pounds (227 kg) with one finger and backlifting 4,337 pounds (1,967 kg), show Cyr to be, according to former International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness chairman Ben Weider, the strongest man ever to have lived.
Cyr was born in Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville, Quebec, Canada. Coming from a robust French-Canadian family, developing extraordinary strength, when even at an early age. Whilst Louis' father was of average proportions, his mother was almost Amazonian, recorded as weighing 265 lb at 6' 1". She in turn had a father of 6' 4" and 260 lb. From the age of 12 Cyr worked in a lumber camp during the winters and on the family’s farm the rest of the year. Discovering his exceptional strength at a very young age, he impressed his fellow workers with his feats of strength. After learning of the tale, Cyr attempted to mimic the practice of legendary strongman Milo of Croton, who as a child carried a calf on his shoulders, continuing to carry it as it grew into a full-grown bull and he into a grown man. Cyr's calf, however, bolted one day, kicking him in his back, after which he instead began carrying a sack of grain 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) every day, adding 2 pounds (0.91 kg) each day. According to one of his biographers, his mother decided “he should let his hair grow, like Samson in the Bible.” She curled it regularly.
Louis started his strong man career at the age of 17, after some publicity came about due to an incident when the young Louis was reported to have lifted a farmer's heavily laden wagon out of the mire in which it had become stuck. He was matched in a contest against Michaud of Quebec, who was recognized as Canada's strongest man of the time, the results being that Cyr beat him, the tests being the lifting of heavy stones, Cyr winning the match by hoisting a granite boulder weighing 480 lb (220 kg).
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