Barnum's father died when he was 15 and he was determined to rise up from his poor living. He first bought a museum and made it into a live performance with animals. He would then partner with James ...

Sign up for the Concord Monitor’s morning newsletter for essential news each day, and our contests and promotions list for special offers and giveaways. It was with ...

The Greatest Showman, now in theaters, tells the unbelievable true story of circus-founder P.T. Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman). Many events from the movie are based on U.S. history from the mid-19th ...

P.T. Barnum built an empire on spectacle—but one of his most quoted lines reveals a surprisingly grounded philosophy about ...

Circus folk never bid each other “goodbye,” according to tradition. At the end of each show, when scaffoldings are dismantled and animals and performers board the mile-long trains they call home, ...

The travelling circus came to the seaside town twice in the late 1800's.

Reporting from Ellenton, Fla. — After 146 years, the curtain is coming down on “The Greatest Show on Earth.” The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus told the Associated Press that ...

CC0 Usage Conditions ApplyClick for more information. Phineas Taylor Barnum was born on July 5, 1810 in Bethel Connecticut. He worked hard as a small boy to help support the family. When Barnum was 15 ...

Goodbye to death-defying feats — daring young men and women on the flying trapeze, whip-wielding lion tamers, human cannonballs. Goodbye to the scent of peanuts and popcorn, the thrill of three rings, ...

The news of the upcoming closure of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus prompted reactions of shock, grief and praise over the weekend, with animal activists applauding the conclusion of ...