The phrase “greatest show” first appeared in newspaper headlines around the early 1800s, although it wasn’t being directed towards The Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey circus yet; it was directed towards another circus act, Dan Rice. During the nineteenth century, Rice was one of the most influential clowns in America. It wasn’t until around the late 1870s when P.T. Barnum took over the title.
Barnum was no stranger to the spotlight. He had famous exhibits and museums in the early 1800s, and by April 10, 1871, collaborated with circus operators W.C. Coup and Dan Castello to open P.T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Circus – quickly becoming known as The Greatest Show on Earth. With shows being performed from The New York Hippodrome, it became the largest public amusement structure of its time. With all of its glamour, the show set the stage for the future of the circus.
Around the same time, there was another circus emerging that rivaled Barnum’s, the Great International Circus run by James A. Bailey and James E. Cooper. Bailey grew up with a traveling circus, so he knew what it took to manage one. This interested Barnum, and led to the eventual partnership of Barnum and Bailey. By 1881, there was a new circus in town, the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Combining Bailey’s management and Barnum’s knack for extravagant spectacles, the show was one of the most successful of its time, continuing to be known as “The Greatest Show on Earth”.
In 1884, a new show run by five brothers entered the circus ring, the Ringling Brothers. The Ringling brothers ended up becoming one of the most famous and largest circuses in the world by the 1900s, but was still not considered the “The Greatest Show on Earth.”
Barnum died in 1891, leaving Bailey to run the circus. Still popular and now touring through Europe, the circus was still one to rival. However, once Bailey also died in 1906, the Barnum & Bailey Circus was bought by the Ringling Brothers who were now known as the “Kings of The Circus World”. After buying the circus, the Ringling Brothers combined their two names to become the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. So after all of this, the circus is still considered “The Greatest Show on Earth”, but why?
Before merging the two circuses, the Ringling Brothers were never considered to be the greatest show. It seems as if we know the show today as “The Greatest Show on Earth” solely because it was taken from two dead guys. The Ringling Brothers weren’t bestowed the title like Dan Rice was in the early 1800s or Barnum and Bailey in the 1880s. Sure the show itself is elevated and entertaining, but the circus era isn’t the same as it used to be. Circuses aren’t a sole source of entertainment today, so it seems like there aren’t really any other circuses besides the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to bestow the title to.
Despite all of this, the Ringling show is still great in its own ways, but to call it “The Greatest Show On Earth” seems like a fate to be earned, not bought.
Featured image by Madison Smarr through Canva.
