Who is Phineas Barnum?

Answer 1

Phineas T. Barnum (sometimes referred to as P.T. Barnum, was a showman, impresario, and promoter. He lived in the 1800s, and is best known as the founder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. A larger than life figure who knew how to entertain an audience, create a lavish hoax, keep people guessing, and create news wherever he went, Barnum established traveling shows which featured a cast of characters that included everything to jugglers, magicians and clowns to "human curiosities" (people with unique deformities, such as conjoined twins-- then called "Siamese twins"; giants; albinos; and dwarfs-- then called "midgets"); today, putting people with disabilities on display would seem cruel and outrageous, but in the mid-1800s, working for a circus was one of the few ways disabled people could make any money at all.

Barnum also produced concerts, bringing the internationally famous European soprano Jenny Lind to sing for American audiences in 1850-1851. In an era long before movies, radio, and TV, Barnum brought entertainment to millions, and for all his excesses (he was quite a braggart and relentlessly promoted everything he did to the press), many Americans were grateful for whenever his traveling circus or other shows came to their town. (Note also that some of the quotes attributed to him are things he never said-- for example, while he counted on how gullible many people were and how willing to believe his hoaxes, he did not say that Americans were "suckers" (fools) nor did he claim that there was "a sucker born every minute.")