At the turn of the 20th century, the world saw the rise of a new kind of public hero: the professional strongman.
Strongmen emerged from the physical culture movement that had been building during the 1800s, and was itself a response to the Industrial Revolution. With the proliferation of office work, there became a growing concern as to how this new sedentary lifestyle was affecting the health — and manhood — of the country’s men.
Strongmen were symbols of virility maintained — proof that citizens still had the grit, power, and strength of their pioneer forebearers and the potential for doing manly deeds. If men could no longer tame the frontier and challenge the enemies of nature, they could master themselves and pit their hardihood against the weights of a gymnasium.
1. George Hackenschmidt, circa 1900
2. George Hackenschmidt
3. Max Sick, 1910
4. Arthur Saxon
5. Eugen Sandow, circa 1902
6. Lionel Strongfort
7. Eugen Sandow
8. Bernarr Macfadden, circa 1918
9. Strongman, circa 1920
10. Eugen Sandow, 1896
11. Jess Westergaard, circa 1910
12. Georg Lurich, circa 1910
13. Strongman, circa 1901
14. Stanislaus Zbyszko, circa 1913
15. Eugen Sandow, 1894
16. A. Dandurand, 1927
17. Eugen Sandow, 1902
18. Strongman Of The Police School, 1906
19. Georg Lurich, circa 1910
20. Georg Lurich, circa 1910
21. A. Dandurand, 1927
22. Louis Cyr
23. Frederick Winters, 1904 Olympics
24. Pat Connelly, circa 1910
25. Louis Cyr, circa 1900
Strongmen emerged from the physical culture movement that had been building during the 1800s, and was itself a response to the Industrial Revolution. With the proliferation of office work, there became a growing concern as to how this new sedentary lifestyle was affecting the health — and manhood — of the country’s men.
Strongmen were symbols of virility maintained — proof that citizens still had the grit, power, and strength of their pioneer forebearers and the potential for doing manly deeds. If men could no longer tame the frontier and challenge the enemies of nature, they could master themselves and pit their hardihood against the weights of a gymnasium.
1. George Hackenschmidt, circa 1900
2. George Hackenschmidt
3. Max Sick, 1910
4. Arthur Saxon
5. Eugen Sandow, circa 1902
6. Lionel Strongfort
7. Eugen Sandow
8. Bernarr Macfadden, circa 1918
9. Strongman, circa 1920
10. Eugen Sandow, 1896
11. Jess Westergaard, circa 1910
12. Georg Lurich, circa 1910
13. Strongman, circa 1901
14. Stanislaus Zbyszko, circa 1913
15. Eugen Sandow, 1894
16. A. Dandurand, 1927
17. Eugen Sandow, 1902
18. Strongman Of The Police School, 1906
19. Georg Lurich, circa 1910
20. Georg Lurich, circa 1910
21. A. Dandurand, 1927
22. Louis Cyr
23. Frederick Winters, 1904 Olympics
24. Pat Connelly, circa 1910
25. Louis Cyr, circa 1900
I've been searching for four photographs of unknown strongmen from the old SANDOW website because one of them could actually be Grace Hemmendinger, a former wrestler who barnstorm across America as a "strongman."
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