Category Archives: Physical culture

Charles Atlas (Physical culture.  Born, Calabria, Italy, Oct. 30, 1893; died, Long Beach, NY, Dec. 24, 1972.)  Although never a competitive athlete in the strict sense, Charles Atlas (born Angelo Siciliano) was a major figure in early exercise and weightlifting.  In 1921, Atlas developed a system called “dynamic tension,” an early form of isometrics.  A year later, he was named “the world’s most perfectly developed man” by physical culturist publisher Bernart MacFadden.  Through a heavy promotion campaign, he built a significant business.  By 1970, over 70,000 of his body-building mail order courses were being sold annually in seven languages worldwide.