In May 2017, a historic event happened: Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus shut down. Almost two centuries ago, it was created by the well-known P. T. Barnum. It had not started off as Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey, or even Barnum and Bailey. It first started as a museum in New York City as the American Museum.
In 1841, Phineas Taylor Barnum purchased the Scudder’s Museum and renamed it the American Museum. He filled this with all different kinds of oddities, from a fabled 161-year-old woman named Joice Heth, who was supposed to have been George Washington’s slave, to a midget named General Tom Thumb, to a FeeJee mermaid, which was the upper half of a monkey sewn to the lower half of a fish.1 Barnum repeatedly fooled the public into believing his outrageous oddity claims, all for the purpose of making money for himself, and also to satisfy curiosities about the odder things in life. Barnum named himself the Prince of Humbug, and the public loved that even more than being duped.2
“The noblest art is that of making others happy.”3
In 1865, Barnum was elected to the Connecticut legislature as a Republican representative. He was noted saying “A human soul, ‘that God has created, and Christ died for,’ is not to be trifled with. It may tenant the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, an Arab, or a Hottentot – it is still an immortal spirit” during one of the sessions on the discussion of African American voting rights. Barnum was a Unionist who advocated for the right of African Americans to vote, despite his years of being a supporter of slavery.4 The same year he was elected as a representative, his first museum was burned down by Confederate sympathizers.5 He was determined not to fail. Barnum rebuilt in a different location, only for another fire to burn this museum down three years later, in 1868; but this time the cause was unknown.
Despite the huge setback, this was one of the stepping stones in creating Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Defeated by the fires and large loss of money, Barnum retired. In 1871, W. C. Coup convinced Barnum to step out of retirement and go on the road with a travelling circus, “P. P. T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome.” By 1872, it was being called the “Greatest Show on Earth” by none other than Barnum himself, though the rest of the country believed it as well. For eight years, Barnum and Coup took the circus around the country.6
In 1880, Barnum took the next step in creating Barnum & Bailey. He met James A. Bailey, who owned the Great London Circus, and partnered with him to create “P.T. Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth, And the Great London Circus, Sanger’s Royal British Menagerie and The Grand International Allied Shows United,” later shortened to Barnum and Bailey’s Circus.7 Bailey was a man happy to give Barnum the light and hide in the background, running the logistics of the circus, earning him the name “King of Circus Men.”8 Josephine Robinson described the two men in a statement: “Mr. Barnum was the advertiser, who loved the limelight, who rode around in the ring, and announced who he was. But Mr. Bailey was the business man, content to be invisible, demanding it in fact, and interested only in the success of the show.”9
Give the people the best—spare no expense doing it—and they’ll reward you greatly. – James A. Bailey10
In 1882, Barnum and Bailey purchased Jumbo, an elephant that they claimed to be the biggest in the world. Jumbo would bring in thousands of people until he was hit by a freight car in 1885, after which the circus was financially devastated. Instead of giving up on the Jumbo act, Barnum and Bailey displayed Jumbo’s skeleton. The show continued and achieved one of Barnum’s lifelong dreams, travelling to Europe, where the circus toured in 1889 for the winter months. In London, a multitude of shows were played, such as the Nero or The Destruction of Rome.11
In 1891, a shock came to the entertainment world: Phineas Taylor Barnum passed away at eighty-one years old in his home. His death left the circus to Bailey, who ran the circus for fifteen years, introducing new shows and acts such as Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.12 Shock hit the United States again when, in 1906, James A. Bailey passed away in his home from erysipelas.
In 1907, the Ringling Brothers purchased the circus from Bailey’s wife. The brothers ran the circus separately until 1919 when the circuses merged creating the famous Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. The new circus traveled the United States until it was dismantled ninety-nine years later.
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2013, s.v. “First Modern American Circus,” by Geralyn Strecker. ↵
- P.T. Barnum, The autobiography of P.T Barnum:clerk, merchant, editor, & showman (England:Ward & Lock, 1855), 86. ↵
- P.T. Barnum, Life of P.T. Barnum (Buffalo: The Courier Company, 1888). ↵
- “The Lost Museum Archive,” P. T. Barnum’s Speech on “Negro Suffrage,” May 26, 1865 (excerpts) https://lostmuseum.cuny.edu/archive/p-t-barnums-speech-on-negro-suffrage-may-26. ↵
- John Headley, Confederate Operations in Canada and New York (Nabu Press, 2010): 327. ↵
- Margo DeMello, Encyclopedia of Body Adornment (Westport, Conn: Greenwood, 2007), 25-26. ↵
- “P.T. Barnums Greatest Show on Earth, and Great London Circus, Sangers Royal British Menagerie & Grand International Allied Shows,” The Library of Congress, 1879 https://www.loc.gov/item/99471610/. ↵
- “James A. Bailey, King Of Circus Men, is Dead. News Kept From Performers Till The Show Was Over. Widow Gets Circus Stock. Showman Died Of Erysipelas At His Country Home Near Mount Vernon After A Week’s Illness,” New York Times, April 12, 1906. ↵
- Linda Simon, The Greatest Shows on Earth: A History of the Circus (London, UK: Reaktion Books, 2014): 85. ↵
- A Pioneer Showman (Public Opinion Company: January 1, 1906), 486. ↵
- Ernest J. Albrecht, From Barnum & Bailey to Feld: The Creative Evolution of the Greatest Show on Earth (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2014), 27. ↵
- Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2010, s.v. “Bailey, James Anthony,” by James Craddock. ↵
67 comments
Eric Ortega Rodriguez
This article was fascinating. It was interesting to see something go from a museum to a circus. I find it bizarre how Barnum museums would be burned down, especially since it was due to that he had the belief that African Americans should be allowed to vote, which offended many Confederate sympathizers. I also found it interesting when the article talks about Jumbo, I had no idea he was known as the largest elephant and that he had gotten hit by a freight car. Overall, very well-written article and original.
Mariana Valadez
It is very interesting to see how circuses were created and the idea that began them all. I am not a fan of the circus, but I know many people enjoy them, so the idea is a hit. It is weird how the concept began with a museum. It is no surprise that the business for these brothers was ran for a long time.
Maisie Favila
I do not support circuses or anything affiliated with the ringling brothers for obvious reasons due to the mistreatment of animals, but it was interesting to read about the history of it. I liked hearing about the ‘greatest show on earth’ was put together and by who. It’s crazy to know of something all your childhood but never truly understand the history behind it. Overall, I enjoyed this article and I believe it was well written.
Katherine Watson
The controversy behind circuses keeps me away from them, but you can not deny that there is a sort of glamour to them. The wonder and fantasy they bring to children, with the exquisite acts they brought worldwide, it is no surprise that the Ringling Brothers stayed in business as long as they did. It’s just unfortunate that the company strayed far from its roots and found itself in a lot of legal dilemmas that pushed people, like me, away. I have never been to a circus, and now I honestly do not plan on it, but with technology changing the world we live in, kids don’t have the same imagination and wonder that kids in the past do. I believe that a mix of legal issues and technology is the main reason that there is an end to such an era.
Bictor Martinez
From a museum to creating a circus is interesting. PT Barnum bizarre ideas in the museum was to put to use in creating the circus. PT Barnum would soon change the entertainment in the future due to his bizarre ideas. I never heard of the famous Jumbo getting hit by a freight train, however by making a skeleton of him comes to show the impact he had on the circus. I personally have never been to a circus, but now I wish to go see a show.
Adrian Cook
I’m sure everybody has been to a circus or two in their lifetime but I never knew what the story was behind it. I would be intrigued to see “George Washington’s Slave” in a museum and other amazing things like a FeeJee mermaid. I never knew what the significance of the elephant was until Jumbo. I never knew Jumbo was hit by a freight train and I find it very weird how they kept the skeleton of the elephant. But anything to keep the show going, right?
Sarah Nguyen
Although I am not a fan of circuses, seeing how they were created and the idea behind them is really interesting. Circuses brought on a whole new era of entertainment and uniqueness. The author of this article did a great job explaining PT Barnum’s role in creating this, and how his role in the circus changed throughout his lifetime after the fire and his travels through Europe.
Kathyleen Lauriano
As a child my parents would take me to the circus, I loved it. But once you hear about how they mistreat the animals its heartbreaking and you become uninterested. You wish you could help them. Its great to read how it all started out and how he made it come to life. Its sad how it came to an end. Very well written article great job!
Andrea Cabrera
I, personally, don’t like circuses since they mistreat animals. It’s amazing how it all started as a museum and then turned into an amazing sensation. Reading all the many transitions the circus made was a true pleasure and adding the quotes of Barnum and Bailey was a nice detail to give life to the story. The very first time I heard about this circus was through the movie ‘The Greatest Showman’ which shows more Barnum’s business side, while this article describes how he brought the circus to life.
Belene Cuellar
I personally am not a fan of the circus because of the treatment of animals. It is interesting to see the amount of influence that he had on the public. How he lived to entertain the public even if it meant fooling the public. Kind of ironic that the public didn’t really mind being duped. I wonder how much the circus had changed since their deaths?