The day after America’s 34th birthday, Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum was born in the small town of Bethel, Connecticut. His upbringing was humble, but he would later become known as the “Great American Showman.” When he turned 12, he traveled to Brooklyn, New York, but by no means in the usual fashion. He was hired to help drive a herd of cattle to the large city. He was enamored with the city that seemed to overshadow his own in both size and scale. In the coming years, New York City would become his home and from there his name would become known throughout the world.
In 1810, the year of Barnum’s birth, John Scudder, a naturalist and taxidermist, opened his American Museum on the second floor of the New York City Almshouse on 21 Chatham Street. The museum typically hosted scientific lectures and natural history exhibits. After the War of 1812 and the following economic downturn, the museum presented musicians and various curiosities, which lured visitors of varied classes. In 1830, the museum was operated by Scudder’s son, Dr. John Scudder Jr., to much fanfare and financial success. The museum relocated to an illustrious building located at Broadway and Ann Streets. It luckily survived the Great Fire of New York in 1835, and six years later in 1841 was purchased by Barnum for $12,000 (approximately $424,000 today).
Becoming Bailey
On July 4, 1847, James Anthony McGinnis was born in Detroit. His early life would prove far more difficult than Barnum’s. By the time he was 8 years old, both of his parents were dead. He was sent to live with his older sister, but her harsh and intolerant treatment of him would soon drive him to run away. At 12 or 13 years old, he left to find work on a farm near Pontiac, Michigan. He soon left for Pontiac to find work that was less backbreaking and more rewarding. While working as a bellhop at the Hodges House Hotel, he met Col. Frederic Harrison Bailey, who worked for John Robinson and Bill Lake’s traveling “old time circus.” Intrigued by the circus and finding a kind and generous spirit in Bailey, he begged to join the circus in any capacity. Bailey obliged and the young boy became his assistant. Shortly thereafter, McGinnis changed his last name to Bailey.
The Greatest Shows
With the American Museum’s popularity starting to wane, Barnum was presented with an idea in 1870 by circus managers W.C. Coup and Dan Castello. It would involve a collaboration the likes of which had never been seen—a collaboration that rightly needed to be labeled as “The Greatest Show on Earth.”Barnum bought into the idea and contacted many of his prior connections and former performers. His hope was “to totally eclipse all other exhibitions in the world.” On April 10, 1871, Barnum, Coup, and Castello launched the “P.T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Circus” in Brooklyn. The next great step took place on April 30, 1874 when the New York Hippodrome, later named Madison Square Garden, opened. It enabled Barnum to have a 10,000-seat stadium for his “Greatest Show on Earth.”
Bailey, however, was also making great strides in the circus business. From 1876 to 1878, the Cooper and Bailey Circus left America for a 76,000-mile journey. They showcased their circus first in Australia, then in South America, then sailed to Great Britain, before returning to the United States. By this time, Barnum’s and Bailey’s were the top circuses in the country. Barnum conceded this point in 1880 when Bailey’s new Great London Show arrived and dominated the scene.
The Rüngelings
The same year that Jumbo disembarked, five brothers from Baraboo, Wisconsin, began a song-and-dance troupe called the Classic and Comic Concert Co. After two seasons, Albert, Otto, Alfred, Charles, and John Rüngeling started a backyard circus. Their meager circus didn’t remain meager for long. The Rüngeling brothers decided it best to change their name to something a little easier to pronounce, though the length of the name was rather extensive: “Ringling Bros. United Monster Shows, Great Double Circus, Royal European Menagerie, Museum, Caravan, and Congress of Trained Animals.”The Death of Barnum
Barnum, nearing 80, decided to give managerial control over to Bailey and change the name of the business to Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. On April 7, 1891, almost 20 years to the day after Barnum began his circus adventure, he died of a stroke. Bailey purchased Barnum’s interest in the business from Barnum’s widow, though he kept the name. Remaining under Bailey’s leadership, the circus continued to flourish.The Ringling Brothers circus continued to flourish as well. Feeling their oats by 1895, the Ringling Brothers ventured into New England, a market cornered by Barnum & Bailey. Bailey, in Barnum fashion, decided instead of the two businesses competing with each other, they would divide the country. The Ringling Brothers would headquarter in Chicago, while Bailey agreed to remain in New York.
Bailey’s Death, Ringling Purchase
In 1897, Bailey decided on a five-year tour of Europe with the Barnum & Bailey Circus. The now-five ring circus employed more than 1,000 people and was so large as to need 28 rail cars to travel. In Bailey’s absence, the Ringling Brothers had become the “Kings of the Circus World.” Understanding the stakes, Bailey planned a massive expansion of his circus, which would include more performers, dangerous stunts, 94 rail cars to transport the circus, and a massive 21-tier tent. The competition was fierce, but Bailey would only last a few more years.In the spring of 1906, Bailey fell ill with erysipelas, a skin disease. On April 11, 1906, only 15 years after Barnum had, the “King of Circus Men” died. The news of Bailey’s death was kept from the circus performers and employees until after the night’s performance. Only a few veteran performers were informed beforehand, including a clown who wept, but restrained his tears when performing his act in front of the audience.
