Louis Cyr (; born Cyprien-Noé Cyr; October 10, 1863 – November 10, 1912) was a Canadian strongman. In his career spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries he performed feats of strength such as lifting with one finger and backlifting , which inspired former International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation chairman Ben Weider to declare in 2000 that Cyr is the strongest man ever.
Since his strength was so far above and beyond the ordinary during his time, he and his contemporary Louis 'Apollon' Uni were collectively called the 'Kings of Strength'.
Early years
Cyr was born in Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville, Canada East. Coming from a French-Canadian family, he began developing his extraordinary strength at an early age. 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. 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 every day, adding 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. Cyr beat him in tests of lifting of heavy stones by hoisting a granite boulder weighing .
In 1878, the Cyr family immigrated to Lowell, Massachusetts in the United States. In Lowell, 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 17 years old, he weighed . He entered his first strongman contest in Boston at age 22, lifting a horse off the ground. The fully grown male horse was placed on a platform with two iron bars attached, which enabled Cyr to obtain a better grip. The horse weighed at least . The following year he and his wife returned to Lowell, hoping to capitalize on his fame there. A tour of the Maritimes 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".
He was urged by friends to enter the world of professional strong men, lifting mainly crude solid or shot-filled weights.
From 1883 to 1885, Cyr served as a police officer in Montreal, Quebec. 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, in Quebec City, against the reigning Canadian strongman, David Michaud. Cyr lifted a barbell with one hand (to Michaud's ) and a weight of on his back, to his opponent's to win the title of strongest man in the country.
- He beat Eugen Sandow's bent press record (and therefore the heaviest weight lifted with one hand) by to a total of .
Backlift
Perhaps his greatest feat occurred in 1895, when he was reported to have lifted on his back in Boston by putting 18 men on a platform and lifting them. One of his most memorable displays of strength occurred in Montreal on 12 October 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, a feat he again demonstrated in Ottawa with Queen Victoria's team of draught horses . While in Ottawa he volunteered with the police when they took deputies to round up a local gang of miscreants; they turned him away claiming he would be too slow due to his bulk. He challenged the regular officers to a foot race, beating the majority, and they took him on.