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
Didier Cadena
This was a very interesting article. I was not that familiar with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, so it was really great to be able to look at their backstories. I had no idea about their formations and histories, which made me appreciate all the effort that went into them. The article does a great job of putting all this information together and still make it interesting to read.
Cheyanne Redman
This author really used images to bring this story to life. I have always heard of the Ringling Bros Circus but never actually took the time to attend the shows. Growing up I didn’t really get the experience of the circus, so in general I didn’t really know who P.T. Barnum was. I feel that this article does a wonderful job of giving the justice that he deserved, by showing his passion for the spotlight.
Regina De La Parra
This was a very well written and researched article. Kudos to that! I really liked how this article was able to explain the beginnings of how something colorful such as this carnival and how it was able to maintain itself even though there were many aspects that could bring its closure, like the death of its main elephant. Great article Auroara!
Samuel Stallcup
This article was pretty well-written. I’ve never really known that much about how the Ringling Bros. I was not aware that it was started by just person, and I thought it was interesting how it started out as a museum. This kind of reminded me of the Ripley’s aesthetic of ridiculous things made into real life. I wish I could have seen the show in person before it was ended.
Derek Esquivel
I extremely enjoyed reading this article because when I was younger I used to always go to the Ringling Bros. Circus every time it would come to San Antonio. It was extremely heartbreaking when I heard the news that they were no longer going to be doing shows anymore. The article is very good in showing how Barnum seemed to be very passionate about what he was doing by actually stepping into the spotlight and actually taking over the show.
Thomas Fraire
The inceptions of the carnival are obscure to me and this article extremely expanded my insight on this point. When I more youthful, I used to love heading off to the bazaar with my family. In any case, I didn’t know who established this fantastic excitement factor and this article has helped me to discover that. What fascinated me the most while perusing this article was Jumbo the elephant and how the glorious monster ended up popular. What’s more, I think that it’s fascinating how because of budgetary inconvenience, the carnival chose to show Jumbo’s skeleton for my gatherings of people to see. General this article was a to a great degree intriguing article to peruse.
Kimberly Simmons
I loved how the author used colorful photos to bring this story to life. I absolutely love the circus, so reading about its rise and fall was bittersweet. I don’t know much (if anything) about P.T. Barnum, so it was interesting to read of him — especially when I came across his political work. This article is brief yet descriptive, a good read!
Hanadi Sonouper
This was an interesting read, especially because the circus is a lively environment for artist ability and creativity. Before reading this article, I did not have much knowledge of this P T Barnum, however by his description, he certainly fits the image and title to run a circus. I loved reading the history of how this circus came to be, especially since it started from a museum with quirky findings. The article was well expressed and written, I enjoyed the quotes that added body to story, overall great work.
Carlos Sandoval
I really enjoyed reading this article, I did not know who exactly P T Barnum was though before reading. One thing I never would have thought of is that a man head of a carnival was once a politician, that amazed me. I do remember going to some of their shows as a kid and being in shock and awe. I am glad that they were able to overcome some tough obstacles because maybe my childhood would be different had I not gone to those shows.
Carlos Vazquez
Prior to reading this article I had heard of P.T. Barnum and how he collected oddities for his museum. I had no idea that he was a politician and that he advocated for the right to vote for African Americans. This article was well written and informative, and I really enjoyed learning more about Barnum and what came to be the Ringling Brothers circus.