1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,040 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello, Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: where we dust off a little piece of history every day. 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:26,759 Speaker 1: Today is May six nineteen. The day was May six, 5 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:33,840 Speaker 1: eight four. Katie Sandwina was born Katherine Brumbach in Vienna, Austria, 6 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 1: to Philippe and Johanna Brumbach. Katie would go on to 7 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: become a popular strong woman who wiled her audiences with 8 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 1: feats like lifting horses. Katie was born into a circus family. 9 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: Her mom and dad were circus performers, standing at about 10 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: six ft tall and six ft six respectively. When Katie 11 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: was two years old, she was already holding handstands, so 12 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: began gymnastics training early on as a child. By the 13 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: time she was a teenager, Katie had already grown to 14 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: six ft tall and a hundred and eighty seven pounds 15 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: or about a hundred and eighty three centimeters and eight five. 16 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: Because she was growing to be beautiful and strong, she 17 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:20,679 Speaker 1: became an important part of the family show as they 18 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,839 Speaker 1: toured throughout Europe. In her early acts, Katie's father would 19 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,960 Speaker 1: offer a hundred gold marks to anyone who could beat 20 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: her at wrestling. Nobody ever managed to beat her, but 21 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: she did meet the love of her life through the stunt. 22 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: When she was sixteen, a nineteen year old acrobat named 23 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: Max Hayman took on the challenge of wrestling Katie in 24 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: the hopes that he would get some publicity in cash. 25 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: She defeated him, but they soon fell in love with 26 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: each other. She even began including him in her act, 27 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: lifting him over her head with one arm and using 28 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: him as a rifle in a skit where she pretended 29 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: to be a soldier. A couple of years after they met, 30 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: Katie and Max were married. Max and Katie, also known 31 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: as the Lady Hercules, split from the family circus and 32 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: left Europe for the United States in the early nineteen hundreds. 33 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: Part of Katie's act was to challenge people to beat 34 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: her at lifting progressively heavier weights. One formidable challenger was 35 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: Eugene Sando, a famous bodybuilder. They made it up to 36 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: three d pound weights. Katie lifted the load over her head, 37 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:35,080 Speaker 1: but Sando could only lift it to his chest. Katie 38 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: had beaten a leading strong man, and because she had, 39 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 1: perhaps out of jest or tribute, Katie changed her last 40 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: name to Sandwina. A female derivative of Sando. She added 41 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: the Great Sandwina to her list of monikers. As Katie 42 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: beefed up her strong woman act, she began amazing her 43 00:02:55,880 --> 00:03:00,799 Speaker 1: crowds by breaking iron chains, bending iron bars, juggling thirty 44 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: pound cannonballs, balancing a revolving merry go round with several 45 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,679 Speaker 1: adults on it on her chest, acting as the foundation 46 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: of a bridge over which several people and a horsewoop pass, 47 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: and lifting a half ton cannon on her back or chest. 48 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 1: But for the press, just as impressive as her feet 49 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: was her beauty. One nineteen eleven article by Kate Carew 50 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: in the San Francisco Examiner set the following of Katie. 51 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: She is as majestic as the sphinx, as pretty as 52 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: a valentine, as sentimental as a German school girl, and 53 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: as wholesome as a great big slice of bread and butter. 54 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: She has the strength of ten ordinary men, united with 55 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: the milky satin femininity of a hundred ordinary women. And 56 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: she has stepped down from the dwelling place of the 57 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: gods to do strong woman stunts in the circus. Katie 58 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: toward the u s on the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit. While 59 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: she was on tour, she had a son with Max 60 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: named Theodore. She performed to act the night before Theodore 61 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: was born. In nineteen eleven, John Wrinkling signed Katie and 62 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: Max to the Barnum and Bailey Circus. At first, she 63 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: was part of an act called the Sanduinas, which included 64 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,919 Speaker 1: other strength related performances, but once it was clear she 65 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:26,160 Speaker 1: was the star of the show, Katie became the feature performer. 66 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,839 Speaker 1: At press conferences, Physicians would take note of Katie's measurements, 67 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,479 Speaker 1: and reporters would dote over her perfection and venus like beauty. 68 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: Outside of her circus work, she was also a suffragette. 69 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: In nineteen twelve, she became the vice president of the 70 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: Suffragette Ladies of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. In nineteen eighteen, 71 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: Katie and Max had another son named Alfred. They stayed 72 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,040 Speaker 1: with Barnum and Bailey for a while, but after the 73 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,039 Speaker 1: circus fell on hard times during the Great Depression, the 74 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,120 Speaker 1: duo joined the state run Works progress at in a 75 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: Strason circus. Katie gave her last performance in the late 76 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: nineteen forties, and she retired when she was sixty four 77 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: years old. At that point, she and Max opened a 78 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:13,600 Speaker 1: restaurant in New York where they would sometimes on her 79 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: customers request to perform strength beats. In January of nineteen 80 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: fifty two, Katie died of cancer. I'm Eve stiff Cote 81 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 82 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you'd like to learn more 83 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: about Katie Sandwina, listen to the episode of Stuff You 84 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 1: Missed in History class called The Glamorous Strong Woman. If 85 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 1: you have any burning questions or comments, you can find 86 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at t D I 87 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: h D Podcast. Thanks for joining me on this trip 88 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: through history. See you here, same place tomorrow. For more 89 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: podcasts from my Heart Radio, vis the I Heart Radio app, 90 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,719 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.