American showman Phineas Taylor Barnum, best known for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus, was born on July 5, 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut. Early on in his life, Barnum mastered the art of haggling and negotiating to make a sale. Using these skills, Barnum ran a general store, a book auctioning trade, real estate speculation, and a statewide lottery network. In 1829, he added the weekly paper The Herald of Freedom to his list of businesses. Following the banning of lotteries in Connecticut, Barnum packed up shop and moved to New York City, in 1835. His first foray into a career as a showman began with the exhibition of the blind and almost completely paralyzed Joice Heth. Heth claimed to be over 160 years old and served as George Washington’s nurse.
His first variety troupe called Barnum’s Grand Scientific and Musical Theater, received mixed success. In 1841, he purchased Scudder’s American Museum, and upgraded the building into the popular showplace Barnum’s American Museum. Along with daily hot air balloon rides, the museum featured a variety of changing acts including albinos, giants, midgets, “fat boys,” jugglers, magicians, and exotic women. Barnum’s first major hoax, the “Feejee” mermaid, was introduced in 1842 as a creature with the head of a monkey and the tail of a fish. He later toured the world exhibiting the dwarf “General Tom Thumb,” a/k/a “the Smallest Person that ever Walked Alone.” During this tour, Barnum met royalties such as Queen Victoria and the Czar of Russia.
When he was 60 years old, Barnum officially entered the traveling circus business. His show was initially called P.T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome, but following a merger with James Bailey and James L. Hutchinson was changed to 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. Eventually, this mouthful of a name was shortened to simply Barnum & Bailey’s. Not only was this entertainment phenomenon the first circus to display three rings, Barnum was also one of the very first circus owners to move his circus by train.
In addition to being a versatile businessman, Barnum was also an author, publisher, philanthropist, and for some time a politician. Did you know the life of Barnum has recently inspired a musical biographical drama film? The Greatest Showman, follows the story of how Barnum started the Barnum & Bailey Circus and the lives of its many attractions. The film, which is currently playing in theaters, stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya.
