Louis Cyr
Encyclopedia
Louis Cyr was a famous 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 carrying 4,337 pounds (1967 kg) on his back, show Cyr to be, according to former International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness chairman Ben Weider
, the strongest man ever to have lived.
, Canada
. From the age of twelve Cyr worked in a lumber camp during the winters and on the family’s farm the rest of the year. He impressed his fellow workers with his feats of strength. According to one of his biographers, his mother decided “he should let his hair grow, like Samson
in the Bible.” She curled it regularly.
In 1878 the Cyr family immigrated to Lowell, Massachusetts
in the United States
. It was in Lowell that, Cyr changed his name from Cyprien-Noé to Louis, as it was easier to pronounce in English. Again his great strength brought him fame. At seventeen he weighed 230 pounds (104 kg). He entered his first strongman contest in Boston at age eighteen, lifting a horse off the ground, the fully grown male horse was placed on a platform with 2 iron bars attached enabling Cyr to obtain a better grip. The horse weighed at least 3/4 of a ton.
was organized, and while it may have benefited the organizer, Cyr gained no profit financially. He then began touring Quebec with his family in a show they called "The Troupe Cyr".
From 1883 to 1885, Cyr served as a police officer in Montreal
. Following this he went on tour with a troupe that included a wrestler, a boxer and a weightlifter. He entered a strongman competition in March, 1886 at Quebec City
, against the reigning Canadian strongman, David Michaud. Cyr lifted a 218-pound (99 kg) barbell with one hand (to Michaud’s 158 pounds/72 kg) and a weight of 2,371 pounds (1 076 kg) on his back, to his opponent’s 2,071 pounds (940 kg) to win the title of strongest man in the country.
's bent press
record (and therefore the heaviest weight lifted with one hand) by 2 pounds to a total of 273 pounds (124 kg). \
Perhaps his greatest feat occurred in 1895, when he was reported to have lifted 4,337 pounds (1,967 kg) on his back in Boston by putting 18 men on a platform and lifting them. Perhaps one of his most memorable displays of strength occurred in Montreal on October 12, 1891. Louis resisted the pull of four draught horses (two in each hand) as grooms stood cracking their whips to get the horses to pull harder.
In The Strongest Man in History, Ben Weider
says that Cyr's records remain "uncontested and incontestable." Cyr died in 1912 of Bright's disease
(now known as chronic nephritis
).
A district of Montreal is named Louis-Cyr in his honour; it is located in Saint-Henri
, where he patrolled as a police officer. Both the Parc Louis-Cyr and the Place des Hommes-Forts ("Strongmen's Square") are named after him. Statues of him are located at Place des Hommes-Forts and the Musée de la Civilisation in Quebec City. The highschool in his hometown of Napierville is also named after him.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
strongman
Strongman (strength athlete)
In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or circus performers of similar ilk who displayed feats of strength such as the bent press , supporting large amounts of...
with a career spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His recorded feats, including lifting 500 pounds (227 kg) with one finger and carrying 4,337 pounds (1967 kg) on his back, show Cyr to be, according to former International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness chairman Ben Weider
Ben Weider
Benjamin "Ben" Weider, was the co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness along with brother Joe Weider...
, the strongest man ever to have lived.
Early years
Cyr was born "Cyprien-Noé" in St. Cyprien de Napierville in QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. From the age of twelve Cyr worked in a lumber camp during the winters and on the family’s farm the rest of the year. He impressed his fellow workers with his feats of strength. According to one of his biographers, his mother decided “he should let his hair grow, like Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
in the Bible.” She curled it regularly.
In 1878 the Cyr family immigrated to Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was in Lowell that, Cyr changed his name from Cyprien-Noé to Louis, as it was easier to pronounce in English. Again his great strength brought him fame. At seventeen he weighed 230 pounds (104 kg). He entered his first strongman contest in Boston at age eighteen, lifting a horse off the ground, the fully grown male horse was placed on a platform with 2 iron bars attached enabling Cyr to obtain a better grip. The horse weighed at least 3/4 of a ton.
Rise to fame
Cyr returned to Quebec in 1882 with his family and was married. The following year he and his wife returned to Lowell, hoping to capitalize on his fame there. A tour of the MaritimesMaritimes
The Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
was organized, and while it may have benefited the organizer, Cyr gained no profit financially. He then began touring Quebec with his family in a show they called "The Troupe Cyr".
From 1883 to 1885, Cyr served as a police officer in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. Following this he went on tour with a troupe that included a wrestler, a boxer and a weightlifter. He entered a strongman competition in March, 1886 at Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, against the reigning Canadian strongman, David Michaud. Cyr lifted a 218-pound (99 kg) barbell with one hand (to Michaud’s 158 pounds/72 kg) and a weight of 2,371 pounds (1 076 kg) on his back, to his opponent’s 2,071 pounds (940 kg) to win the title of strongest man in the country.
Reputation as a strongman
While several of Cyr's feats of strength may have been exaggerated over the years, some were documented and remain impressive. These included lifting a platform on his back holding 20 men, lifting a 500 pound (227 kg) weight with his finger and pushing a freight car up an incline. He also beat Eugen SandowEugen Sandow
Eugen Sandow , born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller, was a Prussian pioneering bodybuilder in the 19th century and is often referred to as the "Father of Modern Bodybuilding".-Early life:...
's bent press
Bent press
A bent press is a type of weight training exercise wherein a weight is brought from shoulder-level to overhead one-handed using the muscles of the back, legs, and arm. A very large amount of weight can be lifted this way, compared to other types of one-hand press...
record (and therefore the heaviest weight lifted with one hand) by 2 pounds to a total of 273 pounds (124 kg). \
Perhaps his greatest feat occurred in 1895, when he was reported to have lifted 4,337 pounds (1,967 kg) on his back in Boston by putting 18 men on a platform and lifting them. Perhaps one of his most memorable displays of strength occurred in Montreal on October 12, 1891. Louis resisted the pull of four draught horses (two in each hand) as grooms stood cracking their whips to get the horses to pull harder.
In The Strongest Man in History, Ben Weider
Ben Weider
Benjamin "Ben" Weider, was the co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness along with brother Joe Weider...
says that Cyr's records remain "uncontested and incontestable." Cyr died in 1912 of Bright's disease
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
(now known as chronic nephritis
Nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the nephrons in the kidneys. The word "nephritis" was imported from Latin, which took it from Greek: νεφρίτιδα. The word comes from the Greek νεφρός - nephro- meaning "of the kidney" and -itis meaning "inflammation"....
).
Saint-Henri
Saint-Henri is a neighbourhood in southwestern Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the borough of Le Sud-Ouest.Saint-Henri is usually considered to be bounded to the east by avenue Atwater, to the west by Autoroute 15, to the north by Autoroute 720, and to the south by the Lachine Canal.- Description...
, where he patrolled as a police officer. Both the Parc Louis-Cyr and the Place des Hommes-Forts ("Strongmen's Square") are named after him. Statues of him are located at Place des Hommes-Forts and the Musée de la Civilisation in Quebec City. The highschool in his hometown of Napierville is also named after him.