Ringling brothers were five brothers who founded the most famous circus in American entertainment history. The brothers were Albert (1852-1916), Otto (1858-1911), Alfred (1861-1919), Charles (1864-1926), and John (1866-1936). Their dedication and organizational skills helped build a small group of performers into one of the greatest circuses in the world.
The Ringlings were the sons of a harness maker from Germany. Albert was born in Chicago, Otto in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and Alfred, Charles, and John in McGregor, Iowa. In 1884, the brothers started a traveling circus. At the time, there were a number of circuses touring the United States, including the huge Barnum show that traveled on 60 railroad cars. The Ringlings had little money for equipment or performers, so they did most of the work themselves. They held their first performance on May 19, 1884, in Baraboo. The brothers and 17 other employees sewed and pitched the tent, sold tickets, played in the band, and performed the acts.
Two other brothers, Henry and August, joined the Ringling circus later in the 1880’s. Each of the seven brothers was responsible for one aspect of the circus management. The brothers invested almost all the profits back into the circus, which grew rapidly. At first, they took their show from town to town in wagons pulled by horses. By 1890, the circus traveled by railroad. The Ringlings soon became strong competitors of the Barnum & Bailey circus, the largest circus of the time.
In 1907, the Ringlings purchased the Barnum & Bailey circus, but the two shows toured separately until 1919. That year, they merged to form the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The Ringling family sold the circus in 1967, but the new owners kept the name. In 2017, after years of declining attendance, rising costs, and criticism from animal-rights activists, the circus stopped performing. However, in 2023, a reimagined Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus began performing without animal acts and with a greater focus on human performers.
See also Barnum, P. T.; Circus.
