CHARLES VANSITART

This English strongman was known as
"Vansart: The Man with the Iron Grip".
It is said his hand and forearm strength was exceptionally powerful. He had a very tight, muscular body, and the story goes that he came to be a vaudeville strongman almost by accident. He had gone to the Klondike to dig for gold, but was soon close to starvation, so he began giving impromptu demonstrations of strength in the Yukon saloons in exchange for food. These "demonstrations" caught on, and he was soon giving more elaborate presentations, eventually all around the world.