The Ringling Brothers Circus was a circus founded in the United States in 1884. Ringling Brothers Circus eventually joined with the Barnum & Bailey Circus to become "Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, the Greatest Show on Earth".

The Circus was founded by seven Ringling brothers, Albert (1852-1916), August (1854-1907), Otto (1858-1911), Alfred T. (1862-1919), Charles (1863-1926), John (1866-1936), and Henry (1869-1918).

History

The Ringling Brothers Circus began in 1884 in Baraboo, Wisconsin using the title "Yankee Robinson and Ringling Brothers", the only time the Ringlings ever gave themselves second billing. It was a small circus at first, conveyed by wagons, and differed little from scores of other little shows that transversed limited geographic areas.

By the late 1880s, however, the circus had established itself as one of the largest and best-run circuses in the country. John Ringling served as the advance man and Charles Ringling assumed the role of the manager. True to the typical hyperbole of the day, the official title of the circus was the "Ringling Brothers United Monster Shows, Great Double Circus, Royal European Menagerie, Museum, Caravan, and Congress of Trained Animals".

What distinguished the Ringling Brothers Circus from others was its honest and fair attitude toward the public. Unlike other small circuses of the time, Ringling Brothers would not allow ticket sellers to short change customers, nor did they allow games of chance such as Three Card Monte and shell games on their lots. This reputation for clean dealing and good value brought them success, and soon they were able to make the leap into the ranks of railroad circuses.

In 1889 two of the Ringlings went to Philadelphia where they purchased railroad cars and parade equipment from Adam Forepaugh, a venerable showman who had a show on the road since 1864.

The significance of this change in transportation was that henceforth the circus wasn't limited to moving only 15 to 20 miles a night, and could now skip the really small towns that contained a limited audience in order to play larger towns day after day, therefore, greatly increasing the average revenue.

In 1907 the brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus and ran the two circuses separately until they merged them into one unit in 1919 when they also moved the winter quarters to Bridgeport, Connecticut.

George Auger, a Ringling Brothers circus giant who used the stage name Cardiff Giant, was to act in Harold Lloyd's 1923 comedy film Why Worry? but died shortly after filming started, sparking a nationwide search for a replacement.