Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. His successes may have made him the first "show business" millionaire.[citation needed] Although Barnum was also an author, publisher, philanthropist, and for sometime a politician, he said of himself, "I am a showman by profession...and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me," and his personal aims were "to put money in his own coffers."[citation needed] Barnum is widely but erroneously credited with coining the phrase "There"s a sucker born every minute." (See the Cardiff Giant article for correct attribution to the man who said this in response to Barnum"s actions in the matter.)
Born in Bethel, Connecticut, Barnum became a small-business owner in his early twenties, and founded a weekly paper, The Herald of Freedom, in Danbury in 1829. He moved to New York City in 1834 and 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. Barnum used the museum as a platform to promote hoaxes and human curiosities such as the ""Feejee" mermaid" and "General Tom Thumb." By late 1846, Barnum"s Museum was drawing 400,000 visitors a year. In 1850 he promoted the American tour of singer Jenny Lind, paying her an unprecedented $1,000 a night for 150 nights.
After economic reversals due to bad investments in the 1850s, Barnum began four years of litigation and public humiliation. He recovered, starting a lecture tour, mostly as a temperance speaker, and by 1860, he emerged from debt and built a mansion, "Lindencroft." His museum added America"s first aquarium and expanded the wax figure department.
While he claimed "politics were always distasteful to me," Barnum was elected to the Connecticut legislature in 1865 as a Republican for Fairfield, and served two terms. He ran twice unsuccessfully for the United States Congress. With the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution over slavery and African-American suffrage, Barnum spoke before the legislature and said, "A human soul is not to be trifled with. It may inhabit the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, an Arab or a Hotentot - it is still an immortal spirit!"[citation needed] In 1875, Barnum was mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut for a year and worked to improve the water supply, bring gaslighting to streets, and enforcing liquor and prostitution laws. Barnum was instrumental in starting Bridgeport Hospital, founded in 1878, and was its first president.
Barnum entered the circus business, the source of much of his enduring fame, at age 61, establishing "P. T. Barnum"s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome", a traveling circus, menagerie and museum of "freaks", which by 1872 was billing itself as "The Greatest Show on Earth". Barnum was the first circus owner to move his circus by train, and the first to purchase his own train. Given the lack of paved highways in America, this turned out to be a shrewd business move that enlarged Barnum"s market.
Barnum died in his sleep at home on April 7, 1891 and was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, Connecticut, a cemetery he designed.
Funhouse showman
Joice Heth died in 1836, no more than 80. After a year of mixed success with his first variety troupe called "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, at Broadway and Ann Street, New York City, in 1841. Renamed "Barnum"s American Museum" with addition of exhibits and improvements in the building, it became a popular showplace. Barnum added a lighthouse lamp which attracted attention up and down Broadway and flags along the roof"s edge that attracted attention in daytime. From between the upper windows, giant paintings of animals drew stares from pedestrians. The roof was transformed to a strolling garden with a view of the city, where hot-air balloon rides were launched daily. To the static exhibits of stuffed animals were added a changing series of live acts and "curiosities", including albinos, giants, midgets, "fat boys", jugglers, magicians, "exotic women", detailed models of cities and famous battles, and eventually a menagerie of animals.
In 1842, Barnum introduced his first major hoax, the "Feejee" mermaid, which he leased from fellow museum owner Moses Kimball of Boston, who became his friend, confidant, and collaborator. it was a tail of a fish and the head of a monkey. He justified his hoaxes or "humbugs" as "advertisements to draw attention...to the Museum. I don"t believe in duping the public, but I believe in first attracting and then pleasing them." Later, he crusaded against fraudsters (see below). Barnum followed that with the exhibition of Charles Stratton, the dwarf "General Tom Thumb" ("the Smallest Person that ever Walked Alone") who was then four years of age but was stated to be 11. With heavy coaching and natural talent, the boy was taught to imitate people from Hercules to Napoleon. By five, he was drinking wine and by seven smoking cigars for the public"s amusement. Though exploited, Tom Thumb enjoyed his job and had a good relationship with Barnum free of bitterness.
1856 newspaper advertisement for Barnum"s American Museum located on Ann Street in Manhattan.In year 1843 Barnum hired the traditional Native American dancer fu-Hum-Me, the first of many Native Americans he presented. During 1844-45, Barnum toured with Tom Thumb in Europe and met Queen Victoria, who was amused and saddened by the little man, and the event was a publicity coup. It opened the door to visits from royalty across Europe including the Czar of Russia and let him acquire dozens of attractions, including automatons and other mechanical marvels. He tried to buy the birth home of William Shakespeare and almost got away with it. Barnum was having the time of his life, and for all of the three years abroad with Thumb, except for a few months when his serious, nervous, and straitlaced wife joined him, he had piles of spending money, food and drink, and lived a carefree existence. On his return to New York, he went on a spending spree, buying other museums, including Peale"s museum in Philadelphia, the nation"s first major museum. By late 1846, Barnum"s Museum was drawing 400,000 visitors a year.
His life and legacy
Barnum built four mansions in Bridgeport, Connecticut: Iranistan, Lindencroft, Waldemere and Marina. Iranistan was the most notable: a fanciful and opulent Moorish Revival splendor designed by Leopold Eidlitz with domes, spires and lacy fretwork, inspired by the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England. This mansion was built 1848 but burned down in 1857.
Barnum died in his sleep at home on April 7, 1891 and was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, Connecticut, a cemetery he designed. A statue in his honor was placed in 1893 at Seaside Park, by the water in Bridgeport. Barnum had donated the land for this park in 1865. His circus was sold to Ringling Brothers on July 8, 1907 for $400,000 (about $8.5 million in 2008 dollars). At his death, most critics had forgiven him and he was praised for good works. Barnum was hailed as an icon of American spirit and ingenuity, and was perhaps the most famous American in the world. Just before his death, he gave permission to the Evening Sun to print his obituary, so that he might read it. On April 7 he asked about the box office receipts for the day; a few hours later, he was dead.
P·T·巴纳姆（菲尼亚斯·泰勒·巴纳姆）（P.T. Barnum，1810-1891年），美国巡回演出团老板和马戏团老板。他被认为是世界最伟大的巡回演出团老板，并因展现畸形人的表演而闻名，尽管只有部分是真材实料。他喜欢大做宣传，经常夸大其词，以吸引那些好奇和容易上当的观众。“每一分钟都有一个傻瓜诞生。”这句话是他的谚语。
巴纳姆出生于康涅狄格州贝瑟尔。他从经营乡村杂货店起家，但很快开始经营彩票。巴纳姆开始作为巡回演出团老板是在他遇见一位黑人女子之后，该女子名叫乔伊斯·海斯，自称做过乔治·华盛顿的保姆。巴纳姆连续数年展示她的演出，有时候一周可以挣1500美金。在晚年，巴纳姆承认这个女人至少比乔治·华盛顿年轻30岁。
1842年巴纳姆买下了纽约城的美国博物馆。大约在同一时间，他发掘了查尔斯·S·斯特拉顿，一位来自康涅狄格州布里奇波特的侏儒。巴纳姆把他命名为“拇指汤姆”，并在各地展示“拇指汤姆”及其妻子（也是一位侏儒）。1850-51年，巴纳姆把“瑞典夜莺”珍妮·林德带到美国，开始了她的首次巡回演出。作为巡回演出团老板，巴纳姆早已闻名遐迩，因而轻松当选为康涅狄格州立法机构的一员（1865-69年）。
巴纳姆1871年开始经营马戏团，开始了他所谓的“地球上最伟大的表演”。它是第一批乘火车而非马车演出的马戏团之一。1881年他和主要竞争对手詹姆斯·A·贝利成立了“巴纳姆和贝利马戏团”。他们的演出统治了马戏团世界。首要的演出之一是《大象》，一只肩高达11英尺多（3.4米）的巨象。这对搭档死后，马戏团被卖给了林林兄弟。
巴纳姆的著作包括：《世界上的骗子》（1865年）以及《奋斗和胜利》或《四十年往事》（1869年）。《巴纳姆自己的故事》（1927年）是以巴纳姆留下的材料为基础创作的。
