<Tr> <Th> Height </Th> <Td> 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Weight </Th> <Td> 270--400 lb (120--180 kg) </Td> </Tr> <P> Louis Cyr (French pronunciation: ​ (lwi siʁ); born Cyprien - Noé Cyr, 10 October 1864--10 November 1912) was a French 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 backlifting 4,337 pounds (1,967 kg), show Cyr to be, according to former International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness chairman Ben Weider, the strongest man ever to have lived . </P> <P> Cyr was born in Saint - Cyprien - de-Napierville, Quebec, Canada . Coming from a robust French - Canadian family, he began developing extraordinary strength at an early age . While Louis' father was of average proportions, his mother was almost Amazonian, recorded as weighing 265 lb at 6' 1 ". She in turn had a father of 6' 4" and 260 lb . From the age of 12 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 ⁄ mile (0.40 km) every day, adding 2 pounds (0.91 kg) 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 . </P>

Who is the strongest man that ever lived