After 146 years in business, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will officially take down its giant tent this spring.
In its announcement, the circus’s parent company Feld Entertainment explained that, “The decision to end the circus tours was made as a result of high costs coupled with a decline in ticket sales, making the circus an unsustainable business for the company.”
The release also cited the removal of the elephants from the circus as part of the drop in ticket sales. What was left unsaid was the fact that the circus has been the subject of protests — about the treatment of those elephants and other performing creatures — from animal rights activists and nonprofits such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for decades.
Perhaps the most enduring aspect of the circus’s legacy isn’t the show at all, but that third name in its title, Barnum. P.T. Barnum was a 19th century entrepreneur who is remembered as the “Great American Showman.” He is also falsely attributed with coining the phrase, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
He held a variety of jobs over the course of his life. He came from a family of farmers, and early on was the publisher of a newspaper and the producer of a traveling variety act.
He opened Barnum’s American Museum in New York City in 1842….