P T Barnum Popular Books
P T Barnum Biography & Facts
Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus with James Anthony Bailey. He was also an author, publisher and philanthropist, although he said of himself: "I am a showman by profession ... and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me." According to Barnum's critics, his personal aim was "to put money in his own coffers." The adage "there's a sucker born every minute" has frequently been attributed to him, although no evidence exists that he had indeed coined the phrase. Barnum became a small-business owner in his early twenties and founded a weekly newspaper before moving to New York City in 1834. He embarked on an entertainment career, first with a variety troupe called "Barnum's Grand Scientific and Musical Theater", and soon after by purchasing Scudder's American Museum, which he renamed after himself. He used the museum as a platform to promote hoaxes and human curiosities such as the Fiji mermaid and General Tom Thumb. In 1850, he promoted the American tour of Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind, paying her an unprecedented $1,000, equivalent to $36,624 in 2023, per night for 150 nights. He suffered economic reversals in the 1850s from unwise investments, as well as years of litigation and public humiliation, but he embarked on a lecture tour as a temperance speaker to emerge from debt. His museum added America's first aquarium and expanded its wax-figure department. Barnum served two terms in the Connecticut legislature in 1865 as a Republican for Fairfield, Connecticut. He spoke before the legislature concerning the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude: "A human soul, 'that God has created and Christ died for,' is not to be trifled with. It may tenant the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, an Arab, or a Hottentot—it is still an immortal spirit." He was elected in 1875 as mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he worked to improve the water supply, bring gas lighting to streets and enforce liquor and prostitution laws. He was instrumental in the inception of Bridgeport Hospital in 1878 and was its first president. The circus business, begun when he was 60 years old, was the source of much of his enduring fame. He established "P.T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome" in 1870, a traveling circus, menagerie and museum of "freaks" that adopted many names over the years. Barnum was married to Charity Hallett from 1829 until her death in 1873, and they had four children. In 1874, a few months after his wife's death, he married Nancy Fish, his friend's daughter and 40 years his junior. They were married until 1891 when Barnum died of a stroke at his home. He was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, which he designed himself. Early life and family Barnum was born in Bethel, Connecticut, the son of innkeeper, tailor and storekeeper Philo Barnum (1778–1826) and Philo's second wife, Irene Taylor. Barnum's maternal grandfather Phineas Taylor was a Whig, legislator, landowner, justice of the peace, and lottery schemer who had a great influence upon him. Career beginnings Barnum ran several businesses, including a general store, a book-auctioning trade, real estate speculation and a statewide lottery network. He started a weekly newspaper in 1831 called The Herald of Freedom in Bethel, Connecticut. His editorials against the elders of local churches led to libel suits and prosecution, and he was imprisoned for two months. While incarcerated, Barnum sought the help of Rev. L.F.W. Andrews, publisher of the Gospel Witness from Hartford. Barnum and Andrews then published a joint paper, the Herald of Freedom and Gospel Witness. They dissolved their partnership a year later in October 1833. Barnum then moved the publication of the paper to Danbury, Connecticut. In November 1834, after publishing 160 issues of the Herald of Freedom, Barnum passed control of the paper to his brother-in-law, John W. Amerman, who published the paper for another year in Norwalk, Connecticut. When Amerman sold the paper to Mr. George Taylor, the Barnum family's connection to the Herald of Freedom ended. Barnum sold his store in 1834. He began his career as a showman in 1835 at the age of 25 with the purchase and exhibition of a blind and almost completely paralyzed slave woman named Joice Heth, whom an acquaintance was billing around Philadelphia as George Washington's 161 year-old former nurse. Slavery was already outlawed in New York, but Barnum exploited a loophole that allowed him to lease Heth for a year for $1,000, borrowing $500 to complete the sale. Barnum forced her to work for 10 to 12 hours per day, and she died in February 1836 at no more than 80 years of age. Barnum hosted a live autopsy of Heth's body in a New York saloon to demonstrate her actual age before spectators paying 50 cents each. Showman and promotions Barnum had a year of mixed success with his first variety troupe, Barnum's Grand Scientific and Musical Theater, followed by the Panic of 1837 and three years of difficult circumstances. He purchased Scudder's American Museum in 1841, located at Broadway and Ann Street in Manhattan. Renaming it Barnum's American Museum, he improved it, upgrading the building and adding exhibits. It became a popular showplace. He added a lighthouse lamp that attracted attention up and down Broadway and flags along the roof's edge that attracted attention in daytime, while giant paintings of animals between the upper windows drew attention from pedestrians. The roof was transformed to a strolling garden with a view of the city, where Barnum launched hot-air balloon rides daily. A changing series of live acts and curiosities were added to the exhibits of stuffed animals, including albinos, giants, little people, jugglers, magicians, exotic women, detailed models of cities and famous battles and a menagerie of animals. Fiji mermaid and Tom Thumb In 1842, Barnum introduced his first major hoax: a creature with the body of a monkey and the tail of a fish known as the "Feejee" mermaid. He leased it from fellow museum owner Moses Kimball of Boston who became his friend, confidant and collaborator. Barnum justified his hoaxes by calling them advertisements to draw attention to the museum. He said, "I don't believe in duping the public, but I believe in first attracting and then pleasing them." He followed the mermaid act by exhibiting the four-year-old dwarf Charles Stratton, billed as the 11-year-old General Tom Thumb. Stratton was taught to imitate famous figures such as Hercules and Napoleon. In 1843, Barnum hired the Native American dancer Do-Hum-Me, the first of many Natives that he would present. During 1844–45, he toured with General Tom Thumb in Europe and met Queen Victoria, who was amused but .... Discover the P T Barnum popular books. Find the top 100 most popular P T Barnum books.
Best Seller P T Barnum Books of 2024
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Barnum
Robert Wilson“Robert Wilson’s Barnum, the first fulldress biography in twenty years, eschews clichés for a more nuanced story…It is a life for our times, and the biography Barnum deserves.” The...
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The Life of P.T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor BarnumThis volume offers the 1855 memoir of the American showman and founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus.
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The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno
Ellen BrysonWater for Elephants meets Geek Love in this riveting first novel, an enchanting love story set in P. T. Barnum's American Museum in 1865 New York CityBartholomew Fortuno, the World...
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The Art of Money Getting
P. T. BarnumThe Art of Money Getting P. T. Barnum Those who really desire to attain an independence, have only to set their minds upon it, and adopt the proper means, as they do in regard to ...
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Struggles and Triumphs
P. T. BarnumPhineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, politician, and businessman, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the Barn...
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The Art of Money Getting
P. T. BarnumClassic article, first published in 1880. According to Wikipedia: "Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, scam artist and enter...
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Politics and Beauty in America
Timothy J. LukesThis book holds classical liberalism responsible for an American concept of beauty that centers upon women, wilderness, and machines. For each of the three beauty components, a cul...
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The Witch of New York
Alex HortisBefore the sensational cases of Amanda Knox and Casey Anthonybefore even Lizzie Bordenthere was Polly Bodine, the first American woman put on trial for capital murder in our nation...
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The Science of Getting Rich
Wallace D. Wattles“The Science of Getting Rich” is a 1910 selfhelp book by American writer Wallace D. Wattles that concentrates on money and material wealth, exploring what it means, how it can be a...
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Battle for the Big Top
Les Standiford“Les Standiford takes us under the big top and behind the curtain in this richly researched and thoroughly engaging narrative that captures all of the entrepreneurial intrigue and ...
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Icons of American Popular Culture
Robert C. CottrellTraces the evolution of American popular culture over the past two centuries. In a lengthy chronology of landmark events, and ten chapters, each revolving around the lives of two i...
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Die Chroniken der Meerjungfrau - Der Fluch der Wellen
Christina HenryChristina Henrys düstere Neuinterpretation des MeerjungfrauenMythos: die berühmte Legende verwoben mit gruseliger Realität.Einst zog ein einsamer Fischer sein Netz an Land und fand...
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Becoming Tom Thumb
Eric D. LehmanAn “evocative and entertaining” biography of the nineteenth century circus performer who became a global phenomenon (Neil Harris, author of Humbug).When P. T. Barnum met twentyfive...
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The Art of Money Getting
P.T. BarnumThis book published in 1880 provides valuable lessons on how to get and keep Money, building a wealth future for oneself and his/her Family. We all know PT Barnum for this circus. ...
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Chang and Eng
Darin StraussThis stunning novel combines fiction with astonishing fact to tell the story of history’s most famous conjoined twins. Born in Siam in 1811on a squalid houseboat on the Mekong Rive...
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The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb
Melanie BenjaminFor anyone who loves the historical novels of Sara Gruen, Geraldine Brooks, and E. L. Doctorow, a barnstorming tale of an irrepressible, brawling, bawdy era and the remarkable w...
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The Life of P. T. Barnum, Written by Himself
P. T. BarnumFor more than fifty years, Phineas T. Barnum embodied all that was grand and fraudulent in American mass culture. Over the course of a life that spanned the nineteenth century (181...
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Life of P.T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor BarnumThis volume offers the 1888 memoir of the prominent American showman and founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus.
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Mermaids
Skye AlexanderDiscover the myths, legends, and lore behind everyone’s favorite sea creaturemermaids.The allure and mystery of mermaids has taken hold of our psyche for ages. From the Irish merro...
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Topsy
Michael DalyThe true story of a nineteenthcentury elephant caught between warring circuses and battling scientists, from the author of The Book of Mychal. In 1903, on Coney Island, an e...
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The Remarkable Courtship of General Tom Thumb
Nicholas RinaldiAn irresistible novel that “charts a harrowing tour through the Civil War” (Connecticut Post) and chronicles the life of Tom Thumbthe tiny man who became, in his time, America’s mo...
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The Wonders
John WoolfOn March 23, 1844, General Tom Thumb, just 25 inches tall, entered the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace and bowed low to Queen Victoria. On both sides of the Atlantic, this mee...
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The Life of P.T. Barnum
P. T. BarnumHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of bestloved, essential classics.Meet the greatest entertainer of the 19th Century…In 1834, desperate to create a better life...
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Struggles and Triumphs
P. T. BarnumWith centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world. Who are w...
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The Great American Foot Race
Andrew SpenoThis accessible and thoroughly researched nonfiction debut introduces young readers to a fascinating, littleknown eventthe Transcontinental Foot Race, which came to be known as the...