Charles Atlas (Oct. 30, 1892- Dec. 24, 1972)

Born Angelo Siciliano, in Acri, in Calabria, Italy. He was better known as "Charles Atlas," was dubbed "The World's Most Perfectly Developed Man" in a NYC contest in 1922. Siciliano had been a small and weak child, but, inspired by the strength of a tiger at the zoo, he built up his endurance by working muscle groups against one another.

The Charles Atlas advertisements popularized the phrase "98-pound weakling". His most famous advertisement featured a weak scrawny kid who decides to bulk up after getting sand kicked in his face at the beach. Although the original ads stated "I turned myself from a 97 pound weakling into the World's Most Perfectly Developed Man", the phrase was most commonly rendered in the media as 98 pounds, possibly due to trademark issues. It may also derive from the British usage "seven-stone weakling": 7 stone = 98 pounds. His company did so well that it emerged from the Stock Market Crash of 1929 unscathed. As many as 30 million people have bought his mail order course, which is still offered today. "Charles Atlas" was selected by Forbes Magazine as one of the 20th Century's "Super Salesmen", and named one of the Most Influential People of the Twentieth Century by Times Sunday Magazine. Known throughout the world as a strongman, he is considered a founding father of modern-day body-building and fitness, and of isometric exercise.