Angus Graham (strongman)

Angus Graham (Aonghas Greumach) was a strongman born in 1810 on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland and died at Habost in the Port of Ness in the year 1896. He was widely reported to be the strongest man on Lewis and indeed possibly Britain at the time. His incredible feats of strength have become folklore on the island, one being the rolling of a large boulder which is still to be seen on the Island. Beside this stone is a plaque which was unveiled on the Barvas moor in Lewis to commemorate the strength of Angus Graham. A large boulder (possibly weighing more than a ton) had been moved by Angus when he was around 40 years old. In recent times the boulder has been painted white, by someone wishing to ensure that the stone was not forgotten. Throughout his life Angus had achieved a name for himself as a man of outstanding physical strength.

Many anecdotes still in circulation are based on his reputation as the strongest man in Lewis, sometimes getting confused with the feats of the other famous hebridean strongman Angus MacAskill (who was confirmed as the strongest man ever to have lived who also lived in the Western Isles, upon the Isle of Berneray). [cite book| author=Haswell-Smith, Hamish| year=2004| title=The Scottish Islands| location=Edinburgh| publisher=Canongate| isbn=1841954543|pages=247] The unveiling of the plaque on the stone was carried out by Kenneth John Mackay, who is the chairman of the Angus Graham Stone Committee.

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