Steps: 2,232,868
Miles: 937.81
Flying dogs, stomping elephants, and a pack of powerful Bengal tigers will invade Philadelphia's Wachovia Spectrum April 16-27 along with the rest of the performers from the 138th Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus!
So who were the Ringling Brothers? Barnum? and Bailey?
The Ringling Brothers Circus began in 1884 in Baraboo, Wisconsin using the title "Yankee Robinson and Ringling Brothers", the only time the Ringlings ever gave themselves second billing. It was a small circus at first, conveyed by wagons, and differed little from scores of other little traveling shows. The Circus was founded by seven! Ringling brothers, Albert (1852-1916), August (1854-1907), Otto (1858-1911), Alfred T. (1862-1919), Charles (1863-1926), John (1866-1936), and Henry (1869-1918).
I wonder if there were any Ringling sisters? Poor Mrs. Ringling must of been tired of always changing diapers.
Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman who is best remembered for his entertaining hoaxes and for founding what eventually became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He is known for introducing Tom Thumb to the world and for saying "There is a sucker born every minute." and he didn't mean a "thumb."
James A. Bailey was born James Anthony McGuiness in Detroit, Michigan. Orphaned at the age of eight, McGuinness was working as a bellhop in Pontiac, Michigan when he was discovered by Fred Harrison Bailey as a teenager.
Fred Bailey gave McGuiness a job as his assistant and the two traveled together for many years during which McGuiness adopted Bailey's name.
Bailey later associated with James E. Cooper and, by the time he was 25, he was manager of the Cooper and Bailey circus. He then met with P.T. Barnum and together they established Barnum and Bailey's Circus for which Bailey was instrumental in obtaining Jumbo the Elephant in 1881.
Oh, I do like seeing Elephants!
4 comments:
I love the circus. :) I haven't been to a real circus in a very long time. I especially loved watching the lions and tigers perform. (i feel like i should be saying....lions and tigers and bears, oh my!) LOL
I remember going to the circus with my parents once...LOL....and daddy saying, if it doesnt look like a rock for the love of God dont step on it!!! Ew. LOL
I remember another trip while I was in highschool. The choir went to NYC for a competition and one of the touristy things we did was go to the circus. They billed that they had a real live unicorn which turned out to be a billy goat with it's horns fused together. Definitely not what I pictured as a unicorn BUT in the essence of the word was true to it's billing as it did only have the one horn...
*laffs at the "if it does'nt look like a rock bit".*
I have wondered why they don't call them unihorns... its not like they have a corn on their heads...
I think one of the best movies on someones life was the movie P.T.Barnum on the life of Phineas Taylor Barnum. For a swindler he didnt do so bad introducing terms into the english language like Jumbo, even though the elephant had been named Jumbo prior to Barnum purchasing him he coined the term Jumbo and it became part of our language.
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