The life and times of Louis Cyr
The Quebecker may have died in 1912 but he is still known as the World's Strongest Man
An article in The Globe and Mail on June 28, 1892 titled "Louis Cyr Stronger Than Horses" details how two horses could not pull apart Cyr's folded arms.The Globe and Mail
In the 1892 photograph taken in England, Louis Cyr prepares to resist the opposing pull of two horses. His biographer Paul Ohl says the strongman was more than a national figure - "he was written about across Canada, across the United States, in London and Paris and throughout Europe."
Lifting 535 pounds with one finger: Louis Cyr's strength was displayed in a number of stunts in shows around the world.
Louis Cyr's legend as a strongman included several document feats of strengh. While at one time he lifted a platform on his back holding 18 men, this particular image has him lifting 14 men.
Louis Cyr's influence extended beyond his strongman persona. According to his biographer Paul Ohl, "Louis Cyr was the torchbearer for les Canadiens. Cyr became a symbol of La Survivance movement, the fight for language, for culture, even for St. Jean de Baptiste."
An 1898 circus poster showing Louis Cyr and various demonstrations of feats of strength, including Cyr lifting 25 men at a time and French strongman Hercules Barre supporting an elephant on a platform.Library of Congress
Louis Cyr died on Nov. 10, 1912 of chronic nephritis (then called Bright's disease). He was 49. His obituary ran in The Globe and Mail on Nov. 11, 1912.The Globe and Mail