1810–1891

“No one ever went broke over–estimating the gullibility of the American public.” For Phineas Taylor Barnum, inventor of the three–ring circus, this wasn’t just an observation—these were words to live by. He spent the first part of his career running the American Museum on Broadway, which was filled with hoaxes like a “mermaid” from Fiji, a fake two–headed calf, and a “petrified” giant carved out of limestone. When the American Museum burned down he temporarily ran shows out of the Castle Garden in Battery Park, where he had once lured audiences with concerts by Jenny Lind, a famous Swedish soprano. One of his most famous publicity stunts was walking the elephant Jumbo through the crowded streets of New York in 1882, to the delight of the national media.