Ben Weider
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Benjamin Weider, (1 February 1923 – 17 October 2008) was a Canadian soldier, author, historian (
Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
history), fitness proponent, benefactor of the arts, and entrepreneur. He co-founded the
International Federation of BodyBuilders The International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (IFBB), headquartered in Las Rozas (Madrid), is an international professional sports governing body for bodybuilding and fitness that oversees many of the sport's major international even ...
(IFBB) alongside his brother
Joe Weider Joseph Weider (; November 29, 1919 – March 23, 2013) was a Canadian bodybuilder and entrepreneur who co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) alongside his brother Ben Weider. He was also the creator of Mr. Olympia, Ms. O ...
. The Weiders also founded many successful businesses including gyms, nutritional supplements and magazines such as
Muscle & Fitness ''Muscle & Fitness'' is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine founded in 1935 by Canadian entrepreneur Joe Weider. It was originally published under the title ''Your Physique'', before being renamed to ''Muscle Builder'' in 1954, and acq ...
. He wrote several books about
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, including best seller ''The Murder of Napoleon,'' translated to 45 languages.


Family

Benjamin Weider was born 1 February 1923 in the old Jewish immigrant quarter ("the Main") of
Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...
(
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
), the third son of Louis and Anna Weider,
Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...
emigrants from the town of
Kurów Kurów () is a village in south-eastern Poland, located in the historic province of Lesser Poland, between Puławy and Lublin, on the Kurówka River. It is capital of a separate gmina (municipality) called Gmina Kurów, within Lublin Voivodesh ...
(
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
). Ben left school at 13 to work in restaurants and factories.


Military service

In 1942, he enlisted in the Canadian Army, serving in the
6th Duke of Connaught's Royal Canadian Hussars The 6th Duke of Connaught's Royal Canadian Hussars was a light cavalry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). First formed in 1855 as an independent cavalry troop, in 1879 it became a full reg ...
, in which he did intelligence work. Ben Weider served in the
Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.


Fitness business

Weider and his brother, started a mimeographed magazine (''Your Fitness'') to promote weightlifting and sell exercise equipment, which expanded into other titles including ''
Flex Flex or FLEX may refer to: Computing * Flex (language), developed by Alan Kay * FLEX (operating system), a single-tasking operating system for the Motorola 6800 * FlexOS, an operating system developed by Digital Research * FLEX (protocol), a comm ...
'', ''
Muscle & Fitness ''Muscle & Fitness'' is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine founded in 1935 by Canadian entrepreneur Joe Weider. It was originally published under the title ''Your Physique'', before being renamed to ''Muscle Builder'' in 1954, and acq ...
'', ''
Men's Fitness ''Men's Fitness'' was a men's magazine published by American Media, Inc and founded in the United States in 1987. The premier issue featured Michael Pare from the television series '' The Greatest American Hero''. The magazine's slogan was "How ...
'', and ''
Fit Pregnancy ''Fit Pregnancy'' is a Web site for pregnant women and new mothers. History ''Fit Pregnancy'' was founded as a magazine in 1993 by Weider Publications as a spin-off of ''Shape Magazine''. Weider Publications was acquired by American Media, In ...
''. The magazines were sold in 2003 to American Media. The brothers are attributed with creating
bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...
as a sport, where the focus was on the form and fitness of the body shaped by the exercise. In 1965 the brothers formed the first
Mr Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...
contest at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, New York,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
), an alternative to the Mr. Universe competition. In 1968, the brothers brought Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was then an unknown
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n bodybuilder, to
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. He co-founded the
International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness The International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (IFBB), headquartered in Las Rozas (Madrid), is an international professional sports governing body for bodybuilding and fitness that oversees many of the sport's major international event ...
(IFBB) along with brother
Joe Weider Joseph Weider (; November 29, 1919 – March 23, 2013) was a Canadian bodybuilder and entrepreneur who co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) alongside his brother Ben Weider. He was also the creator of Mr. Olympia, Ms. O ...
, and was its president until he announced his retirement on 29 October 2006. He also co-founded (1936) and ran a physical fitness and sporting goods business from
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
with his brother, which bears their family name. Ben Weider opened a number of gyms around the world, including in
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
.


Historical research

Weider was known as an advocate of the theory that
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
was assassinated with arsenic poisoning by a member of his entourage during his exile in
Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
. Weider had even obtained authenticated Napoleon hair samples and arranged for forensic tests that showed that Napoleon had been poisoned with arsenic. He co-authored several Napoleonic history books including, ''Assassination at St. Helena'', ''Assassination at St. Helena Revisited'' and ''The Murder of Napoleon''. ''The Murder of Napoleon'' became one of the best-selling history books of all time, now with editions in 45 languages. Weider also founded the International Napoleonic Society, of which he was the president, and wrote numerous articles for this organization. Weider owned an extensive collection of Napoleon memorabilia. He donated this collection to the
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...
, making it one of the largest collections of its kind in the world. In 2006, the
Weider History Group World History Group is a magazine publishing company headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia. It was founded in 2006 as Weider History Group by Eric Weider, the son of fitness entrepreneur Ben Weider (and nephew of Joe Weider) and current President o ...
, a wholly owned subsidiary of Weider Health and Fitness Inc, acquired ''Civil War Times'' in an acquisition of eleven history-related magazines from another magazine chain, along with ''
America's Civil War ''America's Civil War'' is a full-color history magazine published bi-monthly which covered the American Civil War. It was established in 1987 by editor Roy Morris Jr. It carries articles about the battles, campaigns, leaders, and common soldiers ...
'', ''
Armchair General "Armchair general" is a derogatory term for a person who regards themselves as an expert on military matters, despite having little to no actual experience in the military. Alternatively, it can mean a military commander who does not participat ...
'', ''
Civil War Times ''Civil War Times'' (formerly ''Civil War Times Illustrated'') is a history magazine published bi-monthly which covers the American Civil War. It was established in 1962 by Robert Fowler due to centennial anniversary interest in the Civil War in ...
'', ''
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
'', etc. These acquisitions caused controversies over a change in editorial direction, including the resignation of the ''
Civil War Times ''Civil War Times'' (formerly ''Civil War Times Illustrated'') is a history magazine published bi-monthly which covers the American Civil War. It was established in 1962 by Robert Fowler due to centennial anniversary interest in the Civil War in ...
''s editor (Chris Lewis), and general criticisms of anti-Palestine bias.


Religion

Weider was a Jewish Anglophone. He financially assisted the rebuilding of Montreal's
Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Marie-Reine-du-Monde, Montréal.jpg , imagesize = , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ...
.
Jean-Claude Turcotte Jean-Claude Turcotte () (26 June 1936 – 8 April 2015) was a Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal. Upon his elevation into the cardinalate he was made the Cardinal-Priest of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Canadian Martyrs. He was ...
, the Roman Catholic Cardinal, said of him that Ben Weider was "One of the greatest Montrealers I ever knew".


Awards

Weider was made a Member of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...
in 1975 (subsequently promoted to Officer in 2006), a Knight of the
National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...
in 2000, a Knight of the
French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
on 12 October 2000 (for his research work into Napoleon's death), a member of the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame, and a Commander of the Venerable Order of St. John (for his charitable work promoting youth fitness and health worldwide). In 1984, Ben Weider was also nominated for a Nobel Peace prize. The ''Revolutionary and Napoleonic Studies'' program of
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
's History Department created the ''Ben Weider Eminent Scholar Chair in Napoleonic History'' and the ''Ben Weider Chair of French Revolutionary History'', supported by Weider's bequests. From 1998 to 2005, Weider was Honorary
Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
of the
62nd (Shawinigan) Field Artillery Regiment The 62nd Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (french: 62e Régiment d'artillerie de campagne, ARC) is a Reserve (military), militia unit of the Canadian Army that has its own military band and is located in Shawinigan, Quebec. It recruits primarily in ...
, RCA. In 2005, he was promoted to Honorary
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
of that
military unit Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation' ...
. In 2003, he received the first Lifetime Achievement Award from ''Club Industry's Fitness Business Pro'' in 2003. In 2008, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 20th Anniversary
Arnold Classic The IFBB Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding (''Arnold Classic''), strongman ('' Arnold Strongman Classic''), fitness, figure ...
.


Death

Weider died on October 17, 2008, at the
Jewish General Hospital The Jewish General Hospital (JGH; french: Hôpital général juif), known officially as the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital (french: Hôpital général juif Sir Mortimer B. Davis) since 1978, is an acute-care teaching hospital in M ...
in Montreal.


In popular culture

A movie called ''Bigger'' was released in 2018 on the life of Ben Weider and his brother Joe Weider.


Published works


Books

* Weider B., and Forshufvud S., ''Assassination At St. Helena: The Poisoning of Napoleon Bonaparte'' (1978). * Weider B., and Hapgood D. ''The Murder of Napoleon'' (1982). * Weider, B., and Kennedy, R. ''Superpump!: Hardcore Women's Bodybuilding'' (1986). * Weider, B. and Forshufvud, S. ''Assassination at St. Helena Revisited'' (1995). * Weider, B. ''The Murder of Napoleon'' (1998). * Weider, B. ''Louis Cyr: Amazing Canadian'' (2000). * Weider, B., Weider, J., and Gastelu, D., ''The Edge'' (2002). Weider, B. ''Napoleon: The Man that Shaped Europe'' (2003). * Weider B., Weider J., Schwarzenegger A., ''Brothers of Iron: Building the Weider Empire'' (2006) * Franceschi, M., and Weider B. ''Wars Against Napoleon: Debunking the Myth of the Napoleonic Wars'' (2007).


Journal articles

* Weider B., and Fournier J.H., ''Activation analyses of authenticated hairs of Napoleon Bonaparte confirm arsenic poisoning'' (1999). * Weider B., and Fournier J., ''The Death of Napoleon'' (1999).


See also

*
Jake Wood (bodybuilding) Jake Wood is the sole owner of Ms. Olympia, Rising Phoenix World Championships, Muscle & Fitness Hers and Mr. Olympia.


References


External links


Ben Weider's last interview with Carol Off of CBC Radio 'As It Happens', discussing his multi-million dollar donation of Napoleon artifacts to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, broadcast September 25, 2008
(move time slider to 20 mins, 45 secs to start)
IFBB Professional League
for interest in professional bodybuilding, health and fitness
International Napoleonic Society website

Mexico-France Napoleonic Institute official website


(in French) * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061231034009/http://www.sportspublishingllc.com/book.cfm?id=854 ''Brothers of Iron: How the Weider Brothers Created the Fitness Movement and Built a Business Empire''by Joe Weider and Ben Weider, with Mike Steere, published by Sports Publishing L.L.C., 2006 *
Pillar of Achievement mention
in the
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...
.
Ben Weider: Canadian Casts Doubt on French History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weider, Ben 1923 births 2008 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Bodybuilding Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian Jews Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent Canadian sports businesspeople Recipients of the Legion of Honour Knights of the National Order of Quebec Officers of the Order of Canada Commanders of the Order of St John Sportspeople from Montreal Strength training writers Canadian Army personnel of World War II 6th Duke of Connaught's Royal Canadian Hussars Royal Canadian Hussars