In the early 1900s, the world saw the rise of the professional strongmen.
The professional strongmen was a response to the Industrial Revolution. With the emergence of office work and factories, there was a growing concern as to how this new sedentary lifestyle was affecting the manhood of the country’s men.
Strongmen were symbols of grit, power, and strength of our forebearers. If men could no longer challenge the frontier and the enemies of nature, they could master themselves and pit their manhood against the weights of a gymnasium.
1. George Hackenschmidt, circa 1900
2. George Hackenschmidt
3. Max Sick, 1910
4. Arthur Saxon
5. Eugen Sandow, c. 1902
6. Lionel Strongfort
7. Eugen Sandow
8. Bernarr Macfadden, c. 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
