| Miriam Katy Williams | |
|---|---|
| Professional bodybuilder | |
 Vulcana in 1900 | |
| Personal info | |
| Nickname | Vulcana, Kate Roberts, Welsh strongwoman |
| Born | (1874-05-06)6 May 1874 Abergavenny,Wales |
| Died | 8 August 1946(1946-08-08) (aged 72) London,England |
| Best statistics | |
| Professional (Pro) career | |
| Best win |
|
| Active | Retired 1932 |
Miriam Kate Williams (6 May 1874 – 8 August 1946) sometimes calledKate Roberts and better known by herstage nameVulcana, was aWelshstrongwoman. Withstrongman William Hedley Roberts, better known as Atlas, she touredmusic halls in Britain, Europe, and Australia. The couple performed as The Atlas and Vulcana Group of Society Athletes.[1]
Kate Williams was born toIrish parents inAbergavenny,Monmouthshire; her father was a local preacher. Kate worked at a tannery in Abergavenny as a young woman. She met William Roberts at the local women's gymnasium he ran in 1890, when she was fifteen. They fell in love; in spite of Roberts already having a wife and family, they left town together and were never parted for the rest of their lives.[2]
Williams's first professional appearance was as a replacement act at a fete hosted by Roberts inPontypool, Wales. They began to be billed together as Atlas and Vulcana from the time of their first appearances in London in 1892. In 1903, Vulcana and Atlas were engaged byHarry Rickards and touredAustralia.[3] Atlas, a true showman of his times, greatly exaggerated his own and Vulcana's lifting capacities, and most of his published boasts have been dismissed. On more than one occasion, he was challenged to his face and shown to be using weights lighter than he claimed.[1] At these times, Vulcana's reputation suffered alongside his, although her authenticated accomplishments were genuinely remarkable for a woman of her era.[citation needed]
Vulcana reached the height of her popularity inFrance, impressing the Halterophile Club de France with her feats of strength, which earned her a medal from the "Father of French Bodybuilding", ProfessorEdmond Desbonnet and a picture on the cover ofLa Santé par les Sports. She was honored with over one hundred medals throughout her career.[citation needed]
Her best-authenticated feats werebent press with her right hand of at least 124½lb (56.5kg), with some authorities accepting a press of 145 lb (66 kg), and anoverhead lift with a 56 lb (25 kg) weight in each hand.[citation needed]
She freed a wagon stuck inMaiden Lane, Covent Garden, London in October 1901 by lifting it before astonished witnesses.[citation needed]
Authorities believe[vague] Vulcana reached the peak of her strength in about 1910. On 29 May 1913 atHaggar's Theatre inLlanelli, she lifted a challenge bell that rival strongwomanAthelda (Frances Rheinlander) failed to raise[4] after twenty-five minutes of trying.
A woman publicly displaying strength was sufficient to generatesuccès de scandale, aspublicity stunts were then called, and Vulcana was no stranger to the art of aggrandizing tales of her exploits. However, some of the stories about her are based on genuine incidents of heroism on her part:[citation needed]
Vulcana and Atlas moved permanently to London in the 1920s, and retired from performance in 1932.
Vulcana was hit by a car in London in 1939, and was conscious when she heard her own death pronounced. She suffered brain damage, but partially recovered, and briefly outlived Atlas and her youngest daughter, both of whom also died in 1946.[6]
Vulcana and Atlas never married one another, and they billed themselves as brother and sister throughout their careers. They did however have six children together, William, Hedley, Augustus, Arthur, Nora, and Mona (1900 – 1946).[6] No scandal resulted, as their secret was not discovered during their lifetimes.
Vulcana did not want her children left with relatives or in orphanages, and insisted on raising them herself.[2] Thus, all of her children performed with the Society Athletes as soon as they were old enough.
Nora Roberts would go on to appear in the filmThings to Come (1936).
TheVulcana Women's Circus, based inBrisbane, Australia, is named after her.
