P. T. Barnum, (born July 5, 1810, Bethel, Conn., U.S.—died April 7, 1891, Bridgeport, Conn.), U.S. showman. In 1841 he bought the American Museum, a collection of conventional exhibits in New York City, and transformed it into a carnival of live freaks and dramatic curiosities, which he promoted with sensational publicity. He exhibited the midget Tom Thumb with great international success and brought Jenny Lind (billed as the “Swedish Nightingale”) to the U.S. for a profitable concert tour in 1850. By the time his museum closed in 1868 after several fires, he had enticed 82 million visitors there. In 1871 he started a circus and in 1881 joined a rival, James A. Bailey (1847–1906), to form the three-ring Barnum and Bailey’s Circus, which featured the elephant Jumbo as part of the “Greatest Show on Earth.”
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