Galen Gough

"October 5, 1923. Washington, D.C. The war hero and former invalid Galen Gough, known as the "Miracle Strong Man" after recovering from having his head caved in by bomb shrapnel in France."
Click image for full size at Shorpy.

"Gough's most serious wound came after an exhausting 24-hour march up to the front lines and into battle with the Marines at Vierzy, near Soissons. It was there shrapnel from an airplane bomb caved in the left side of his head and pierced his brain. By all standards he should have been dead. Service personnel at the scene thought he was dead and deposited his lifeless body with the other war casualties.
When officials finally discovered that Gough was still alive he was transferred back to New York where he was treated for his wounds. He was eventually discharged as permanently and hopelessly disabled.
Gough remained in that helpless condition for three years.
However, during those early years, Gough began experimenting with various exercises. He finally settled on crude isometrics and started a regiment of activities that eventually led him to a full recovery. In the process he dispelled the opinions of medical experts on two continents who said he would never be anything more than a hopeless invalid.
His strength didn't stop though, Gough continued to build up his twisted and wrecked body to a point that his recovery was beyond human belief. Noticing that his health had reached super-human proportions, Gough set off on a course that would lead him to such billings as "The Strongest Man on Earth," "The World's Miracle Strong Man" and "The Daringest Daredevil in The World."" (Quoted from this source)