The History of the Circus
- Louisa Austin
- Mar 19
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 17
A Ticket to Wonder
“Step right up! Step right up!” the ticket seller called as the crowd shuffled and jostled their way into the big top tent. The smell of hot peanuts and lemonade permeated the air; a lion roared behind the tent, so loudly that women screamed, and the throng pushed forward.
“Easy now; he won’t bite,” the ringmaster said to those in front and winked as the crowd hurried into the hot, dusty tent. Inside, people found their seats, excited for what was about to unfold.
Waiting in the wings, the performers finished last-minute preparations and performed their own personal rituals for luck and safety. Each show was different; each crowd its own beast to tame. Hopefully tonight they would throw money into the ring rather than their cold peanuts. One never could tell.
Take a step back in time with me as we investigate the history of the circus.
Behind the Curtain
Ancient Origins
The history of the circus dates back long before the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s Circus. It is traced back to ancient Rome, where grand venues like the Circus Maximus held public festivals. These events were monumental in scale, with the Circus Maximus accommodating up to 150,000 spectators, serving as a testament to Rome’s grandeur and its citizens’ appetite for entertainment. Here they held horse and chariot racing, gladiator fights, and beast-hunting, and some even held public executions.
British Roots
Philip Astley, often regarded as the father of the modern circus, established the first circus in England in the year 1768 with his wife, Patty Jones.
Astley’s story begins not with acrobatics or clowns but with a horse. Originally apprenticed to his father, a cabinetmaker, he was expected to pursue the trade. However, his passion for horses led him in a different direction. He joined the British cavalry, where he developed exceptional equestrian skills. After leaving the military, he became fascinated with trick riding and was quite skilled.
As he grew older, Astley built an arena where he performed equestrian tricks for local audiences. He also trained other trick riders, but one of his students, Charles Hughes, eventually left to start a competing show in 1782 with Charles Dibdin, which became known as the Royal Circus—cementing the term "circus" as we know it today.
Astley’s early circus was primarily composed of horseback performances, with riders displaying their acrobatic skills. To enhance the spectacle, he introduced additional acts such as tightrope walkers, acrobats, jugglers, and clowns, performing within a circular arena format that became the standard for circuses thereafter.
It’s interesting to note that although Astley performed in a circular arena, he always called his show “Astley’s Ride.” It was his competitors that coined the term ‘circus.’
Coming to America
The man credited with bringing the circus from England to America was John Bill Ricketts, an equestrian who trained with Astley’s competitors at the Royal Circus. In 1793, Ricketts opened the first American circus in Philadelphia, marking the beginning of circus entertainment in the United States. The American circus flourished during the Gilded Age (approximately 1870-1900), an era of rapid industrialization and economic expansion that allowed for large-scale traveling circuses to thrive. Sadly, Ricketts’ story is not so gilded.
Ricketts’ circus performed for his friend and Freemason brother, Pres. Geroge Washington, in 1797, for Washington’s retirement. Sadly, three days later after Washington’s death in 1799, Ricketts’ circus building burned. While Ricketts was sailing to the West Indies shortly after, the boat was commandeered and taken to Guadeloupe. Ricketts was able to recover some of his stolen property and even performed on the island. Gathering enough money to travel home to England, the ship sank and all on board drowned.
The Golden Age of Spectacle
But, as they say, “the show must go on.”
In 1806, Hachaliah Bailey bought an African elephant named Old Bet. Bailey had a trained dog, horses, pigs, and wagons, and is credited with creating one of the first American circuses after John Ricketts brought the circus over from England.
One of the ticket sellers was the boy P.T. Barnum, who went on to create P.T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling American Museum. This show traveled across the country, but after two fires in 1865 and 1868, Barnum retired from the museum business. While touring, Barnum added animals and a freak show to attract customers. The wildly popular movie “The Greatest Showman” is all about Barnum’s life and career. However, the seedier parts of his personality were left out. I will be covering that in a later article.
Three years later, two men Dan Castello and William Cameron Coup, persuaded Barnum out of retirement to help them with their own circus. He agreed and they eventually named their circus “The Greatest Show on Earth.” It included a variety of performances, a museum, animals, and freaks (this is the historical term – I don’t like it, personally.) It had it all.
Meanwhile…James Anthony Bailey, a nephew of Hachaliah, had joined up with James Cooper and was performing across the country as well. Their Cooper and Bailey Circus was Barnum’s greatest competition and was outperforming Barnum’s circus. In March of 1881, the two joined shows. I’m guessing that it became “Barnum and Bailey’s Circus” because "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” was too much to print on a poster…
Around the same time Barnum and Bailey were at their most popular, 1884, the five Ringling Brothers out of Baraboo, Wisconsin, had started a small circus. They moved from town to town with caravans pulled by animals. Eventually, they were able to move by train and took their show to the East coast.
In 1905, Bailey took his show West of the Rocky Mountains and when he died in 1906, it was sold to the Ringling Brothers. P.T. Barnum had died several years before of a stroke in 1891. The Ringling Brothers ran the circuses separately from 1907 until 1919. Two of the five brothers still survived, and it was more feasible to run the shows together. Thus, the “Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows” was born, debuting in New York City on March 29, 1919.
The Circus Today
The most well-known circus is obviously still the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. However, they collapsed their tent in 2017 due to declining ticket sales. In the early 2000s, The Humane Society of the United States sued the franchise over mistreatment of the elephants. After a decade-long battle, the circus won but decided to retire the elephants. This and high operating costs shuttered their doors for six years, but in 2023 they relaunched their show in Louisiana – just without animals.
Step Right Up!
Speaking of elephants, a fond memory I have is when I was about 14 years old (this was mid-90s so animals were still part of the act) and my paternal grandparents took us to the circus. I believe it was the Ringling Bros. circus, and they were in Indiana. My Papaw bought us a ride on the elephant.
It was quite the test for my timid heart to get on the back of this huge animal. We ambled around the arena, and I felt bad for the elephant – it seemed really bored as did its handler. The view from atop this gentle creature was frightening, to say the least (I don’t like heights). But it was quite an experience to sit in the chair atop its back even for a few moments, and my Papaw loved that he could give that moment to me and my siblings.
Personally, though, I am glad they retired animals from their shows.
Come back Sunday for a fictional tale of a young woman whose family works for Mr. Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth.
If you like darker tales, check out Madame Maggie’s Menagerie & Circus.
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