FACTS
1. 1768 Philip Astley is the first person to bring together the elements of circus.
2. 1793 John Bill Ricketts presents the first circus in America in Philadelphia on April 3rd.
3. 1797 Philip Lailson sends his performers in costume out into the streets of Philadelphia hoping to drum up business for his circus – the first circus parade is born.
4. 1810 Traveling animal menageries become popular, offering audiences rare glimpses at exotic beasts.
5. 1825 J. Purdy Brown is the first to order a canvas tent for his circus. Brown realized he would have the ability to move his show every day with a tent and could therefore reach more people and make more money.
6. 1829 Trained animal acts begin to appear with circuses.
7. 1835 Circus wagons begin to appear in circus parades. The very first was
a band wagon carrying the circus band.
8. 1857 The steam calliope is a unique and loud addition to circus parades.
9. 1872 P.T. Barmum, together with William C. Coup and Dan Castello, move
their entire show in railroad cars. Small circuses are still traveling by
wagon.
10. 1882 Jumbo, the elephant, is brought to the United States by the
Barnum and London Show. The word “jumbo” comes to be used as a
synonym for large.
11. 1883 William F. Cody, or Buffalo Bill, performs in the first wild west s
show at the Rocky Mountain and Prairie Exhibition.
12. 1884 Al, Otto, Alf, Charles and John Ringling give their first
performance as Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows in Baraboo,
Wisconsin.
13. 1891 The Adam Forepaugh Circus features Miss Carlotta and Colonel
Boone in the first wild animal act presented in an arena.
14. 1891 Phineas T. Barnum dies on April 7th.
15. 1892 Frank Menches, while selling food concessions, runs out of link
sausages. He asks his assistants to form ground sausage into patties and
sell them as sandwiches. The hamburger is born.
16. 1896 Barnum & Bailey Circus exhibits a horseless carriage in their circus
parade.
17. 1907 The Ringlings purchase Barnum &Bailey Greatest Show on Earth.
18. 1919 Ringling Bros. Circus and Barnum &Bailey Greatest Show on Earth
are combined into one giant circus, The Big Show.
19. 1924 Seils-Sterling circus takes to the road in motorized vehicles.
20. 1929 The Great Depression begins and circuses are struggling – people
have no money to use for entertainment.
21. 1927 The Circus Fans Association of America is founded.
22. 1941 Walt Disney Pictures releases “Dumbo”. World War II makes it
difficult for circuses to find young men to work. However the war gives industries a boost that provide Americans with the money to attend the circus more often. – business is booming.
23. 1942 Ringling Bros. and Barnum&Bailey Circus donates a block of seats at each performance to war bond buyers.
24. 1944 The Big Show performs a show on July 6th. During the show, the tent catches fire and within nine minutes collapses. Many are injured or killed in the fire. Six officials are sent to prison, large fines are paid and new fire codes for public places are put into place.
25. 1956 The Big Show does its last tented show on July 16th. The show is performed exclusively in arenas after this date.
26. 1968 Ringling Bros. and Barnum&Bailey open Clown College.
27. 1970 The first women are accepted to Clown College.
28. 1974 Philippe Petit walks a tight wire strung between the twin towers of
the World Trade Center, 1,350 feet above the side walk.
29. 1977 The Big Apple Circus, a one-ring European style circus, is founded
by Paul Binder.
30. 1984 Cirque du Soleil is founded by Guy Laliberte.
31. 1987 Rob Mermin founds Circus Smirkus.
32. Every major circus that uses animals has been cited for violating the minimal standards of care set forth in the United States Animal Welfare Act (AWA).
33. Animals in circuses spend about 11 months of the year traveling.
34. During travel, animals may be caged or chained for long distances and hours, forced to stand in their own waste, in extreme temperatures.
35. Standard circus industry training tools used on animals include bullhooks, whips, clubs, and electric prods.
36. From 1994 to 2005, at least 31 elephants have died premature deaths in the circus. Other circus animals who have died in an untimely manner include horses and lions.
37. The word “circus” comes from the Latin word meaning circle or ring.
38. A traditional circus is a traveling company of acrobats and performers, including trained animals and clowns.
39. Cirque Nouveau combines art forms like juggling, trapeze, acting & music w/out a ring leader, animals or “big top” tent.
40. In order to execute tricks safely, circus performers have to work as an ensemble- a group of equals without a single star.
41. Basic balancing act= a base to lift/catch the flyer + a flyer who performs skills mid-air + a spotter who assists the flyer.
42. Performers let us know their acts are done w/ their own signature style- maybe a wink, a hand gesture, or a “Ta-da!”
43. Clowning is highly physical theater, often without text, that draws on traditions of Commedia dell’Arte and pantomime.
44. Chaplin, one of the most influential clowns/comedians once entered a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest and came in third!
45. Cigar boxes are still a popular juggling prop today, used for high-speed mid-air box exchanges, balancing & other tricks.
46. Legendary screen star Cary Grant started his performance career working as an acrobat and juggler.
47. Contortionism is a circus genre in which a performer displays unusually flexible muscles and mobile joints.
48. Funambulism (or tightrope walking) is the art of walking along a thin wire or rope, usually at a great height.
49. It is statistically harder to get into The Ringling Brothers School of Clowning than it is to get into Harvard Law School.
50. The simplest form of juggling using 3 objects is called a “3 ball cascade.”
51. Sousa's march, Stars & Stripes Forever was traditionally played to quickly signal an emergency to all circus personnel.
52. Human cannonballs travel between 60-70 miles an hour every time they are shot.
53. One circus superstition is that performers must enter the ring on their right foot to avoid bad luck.
54. For good luck, some circus performers keep a hair from an elephant’s tail in their pockets.
55. Once a performer's wardrobe trunk is set down backstage, it's considered bad luck to move it before the circus relocates.
56. Trapeze artists develop skills after years of training.
57. In circus lingo, a strolling vendor who sells concession items like popcorn and toys to the audience is called a butcher.
58. The Oscar-winning 1952 circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, was the first film Steven Spielberg ever saw in a theater.
59. A free pass is called an Annie Oakley- the small hole punched in the ticket resembles sharpshooter Oakley's bullet holes.
60. A lot of circus superstitions have developed along with traditions: one is that whistling backstage is considered bad luck.
62. In keeping with yet another circus superstition, performers never eat peanuts backstage.
63. In 1793, John Bill Ricketts presented the first circus in America in Philly on April 3rd: Pres. George Washington attended.
64. The modern circus- equestrian acts, feats of strength/agility and a clown- was created by Philip Astley in 1770 in England.
65. Italian equestrian Giuseppe Chiarini led the most well-traveled early circus- visiting over 15 countries on 5 continents!
66. The curtain separating the ring from the backstage of the circus is called the vorgang.
67. And another circus superstition: Bringing a peacock feather into the circus tent is said to be bad luck.
68. In 1882, Jumbo the Elephant comes to the US via Barnum/London show & jumbo becomes a synonym 4 large.
69. Did you know that circus is over 2,000 years old? The Chinese Circus dates back to the Qin Dynasty of 225 - 207BC.
70.“Happy Cooks” is a traditional Chinese circus act that involves plate spinning, andd juggling food or kitchen utensils.
71. In 1971, the 1st week of August was designated National Clown Week by President Richard Nixon.
72. There are 3 types of clowns: Whiteface(the oldest), Auguste(zany and dim) & the Character Clown(Happy Hobo or Sad Tramp).
73. Saigon, the oldest circus elephant in Australia, is 55 years old!
74. Australian gold rushes, beginning in 1851, spurred the spread of circus entertainments throughout the Australian colonies.
75. Sword Swallowers practice their craft first with spoons, plastic tubes, knitting needles and wire coat hangers.
76. Most contortionists are either frontbenders or backbenders, depending on which direction their spine is more flexible.
77. Enterology is the practice of squeezing one's body into a very small box or container.
78. The only full-time, permanent sideshow left in the world is Coney Island Sideshows by the Seashore.
79. Animals in circuses are a threat to public safety.
80. Elephants in circuses have gone on rampages, injuring and killing spectators and causing property damage. Since 1990, 18 people have been killed and 86 have been injured.
81. In 1994 an elephant named Tyke killed her handler, then went on a rampage in the streets of Honolulu, injuring onlookers and damaging property. Tyke was eventually gunned down by police on a busy street.
82. Cirque du Soleil, The New Pickle Family Circus, Circus Smirkus, Cirque Eloize, Circus Oz and the Mexican National Circus are all wonderful circuses that offer family entertainment using only willing human performers.
83. The origins of the Circus Maximus go back to the 6th century BC when Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, created a track between the Palatine and Aventine hills.
84. The Circus Maximus was occasionally used for events such as processions or gladiator combats, but on most days only chariot races with quadrigaes, pulled by four horses, were held here.
85. The last race at the Circus Maximus was held in AD 549, almost a millennium after the first races were held at this location.
86. Clowns have always been an integral part of the circus, offering a source of amusement for patrons and providing relief from the array of animal acts and performances by acrobats and novelty artistes.
87. Traditionally, there are three basic types of clowns that appear in the circus: the whiteface, the auguste and the character. Nowadays a fourth type, the tramp or hobo clown, is often recognised separately.
88. The whiteface (or white clown) holds the highest status in the clown hierarchy and is the oldest of the clown archetypes.
89. The whiteface clown is traditionally costumed more extravagantly than the other two clown types. They often wear the ruffled collar and pointed hat which typify the average person's idea of a "clown suit".
90. The augustes are the ones who get the pies in the face, are squirted with water, are knocked down on their backside, sit accidentally in wet paint, or have their pants ripped off.
91. The character clown adopts an eccentric character of some type, such as a butcher, a baker, a policeman, a housewife or hobo. Prime examples of this type of clown are the circus tramps Otto Griebling and Emmett Kelly.
92. The American circus term for a clown's act is "gag"; Europeans refer to it as an "entrée", and amateur clowns sometimes refer to it as a "skit" or "sketch".
93. John William Ricketts, a Londoner, introduced the one ring circus to the United States. George Washington, himself was one of its earliest fans.
94. American circus men of the 19th Century introduced the Big Top, the calliope and the three ring circus.
95. Aaron Turner, in 1826, was one of the first to give performances inside a tent.
96. A tent made it possible to perform in any weather.
97. The tent, where the main acts performed, then became known as the big top. A menagerie tent, where new animals were exhibited, thesideshow tent, where, midgets, and oddities of the human condition were displayed, and the Concession Stand tent all became regular features of the circus.
98. The 'Big Top' tradition is still maintained by a number of smaller circuses.
99. The Circus Fans Association of America, and the Circus Historical Society, are two such groups dedicated to researching and publishing facts about circus life.
100. Phineas T. Barnum was the first American to become an internationally famous circus owner.
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