"There's a sucker born every minute" . . . Barnum probably never said this "infamous" quotation. (but, stay tuned for things he did say.)

 This is a quick life-story.

Born on July 5, 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut, Phineas Taylor Barnum was the first of five children born to Philo Barnum by his second wife, Irena (Irene) Taylor.  This is an engraving of the house where he was born.

After his father died, Barnum went to work at a general store in Brooklyn, the genesis of a life-long love affair with New York City.

Six years after his marriage to Charity Hallet, Barnum obtained and presented the "161 year-old" Joice Heth (see Learning), who claimed to be George Washington's one-time nurse. Barnum's innate flair for, and innovative use of publicity made the exhibit an instant success. The weekly gate proved to be more than Barnum's entire investment.

Barnum decides to partner with carnival owner Aaron Turner.  Poor attendance prompts Barnum to come up with an idea to lure audiences to his spectacular.  The concept of a "Circus Parade" is born and the first one is held in Rochester, NY.

Barnum arrives in New York and becomes a U.S. agent for Sears' Pictorial Illustrations of the Bible, a speculation that lasts around six months.  He takes a summer lease at the Vauxhall saloon.  He writes advertisements for the Bowery Amphitheatre and articles for newspapers.  He becomes proprietor of the American Museum (formerly Scudder's) with a 10-year lease on the building and an agreement to purchase the Museum's collections from his landlord, which he does within a year.  Here is an engraving of the museum at its peak popularity and glamor.

Barnum's American Museum exhibited "500,000  natural and artificial curiosities from every corner of the globe."  One big draw was "The Feejee Mermaid," allegedly the world's only known preserved mermaid.  That the "Feejee" turned out  to be the top of a monkey sewn onto the body of a fish did little to stem the excitement of ticket buyers.   At every corner, the Museum was packed with dozens of perhaps more plausible peculiarities and performances, including wild animals and melodramas presented in a state-of-the-art theater he called "the lecture room."

Barnum is introduced to the tiny Bridgeport, CT native, Charles Stratton.  He renames him General Tom Thumb and begins exhibiting him at the Museum.  The two become life-long friends, and during at least one of Barnum's personal financial crises, Stratton bails him out by agreeing to take his act on the road again.

 Barnum leaves for Europe with Tom Thumb and entourage for an audience with Queen Victoria.  Her endorsement establishes a successful opening campaign in London.  They then tour, over the next three years, France, Belgium, the English provinces, Scotland and Ireland.  Meanwhile Barnum engages in other speculations, writes a series of articles on his experiences abroad for the New York Atlas, and occasionally returns to the U.S.

Barnum buys 17 acres of land in Fairfield, CT, adjacent to Bridgeport, for Iranistan, the first of his four famous Bridgeport area mansions.

He gives up touring with Tom Thumb and returns to New York in the spring. Barnum is elected president of the Fairfield County Agricultural Society and continues in this office until 1854. He throws a big housewarming at Iranistan.  Here is a photograph of Barnum at the wedding of Tom Thumb.  Although the friendship was genuine, Barnum used Thumb for as much publicity as possible (and vice-versa).

Barnum buys Peal's Philadelphia museum collection and divides it with Moses Kimball.  The American Museum undergoes extensive renovation and reopens.  He sends out an expedition to capture elephants in Ceylon.

Barnum lures Swedish soprano Jenny Lind to the U.S.  Lind arrives in New York to unheralded fanfare. Her sensationalistic first concert at Castle Garden  instantly makes her a superstar and Barnum takes her on tour.

He continues his tour with Lind, which includes visiting Cuba and the southern states.  He arrives back in New York in May.  In June, he breaks with her after managing 95 concerts. Barnum sells his Philadelphia museum, which later burns.  In the spring, in partnership with Seth B. Howes and Sherwood Stratton (Tom Thumb's father), sends out Barnum's Great Asiatic Caravan, Museum and Managerie.  Barnum becomes a trustee of Tufts College, a founder and first president of the Pequonnock Bank of Bridgeport and the American agent for Phillip's Fire Annihilator, which fails a public demonstration. I n partnership with William H. Noble, buys extensive property in East Bridgeport and begins developing it. He lectures on temperance during the winter of 1851-52.

Barnum is commonly known to be bankrupt through his East Bridgeport speculations and dealings with the Jerome Clock Co. of New Haven.  He assigns Iranistan and other Bridgeport property and moves his family to Long Island, then to New York City.  AHe then sails for England with the Howard family of Uncle Tom's Cabin fame, to retrieve his fortune. Later in the tour, superstar Tom Thumb joins Barnum and his troupe in England.

In England, he prepares a lecture: "The Art of Money-Getting."

He continues to lecture while touring the English  provinces, before returning to the U.S.

Barnum represents Fairfield in Connecticut legislature, where on May 26 he delivers a much publicized speech in favor of "enfranchising Negroes."

P. T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus opens under canvas in Brooklyn.  The road show with 100 railway carriages grosses $400,000 in its first year.  At the end of the touring season the show moves into the Empire Rink in New York City.

His wife, Charity, dies.

He marries Nancy Fish, forty years his junior and they remain together until his death 17 years later.

He is elected mayor of Bridgeport for a term of one-year.  Barnum is elected to represent Bridgeport in the Connecticut Assembly. He wins a second 2-year term.

The Barnum and London Circus opens at Madison Square Garden with three rings and electric lighting.  Barnum presents an ornamental fountain to his hometown of Bethel.  The combined circus ends its first season and returns to its new winter quarters in Bridgeport.

Barnum invites James A. Bailey to merge his London Circus with his own.  At the end of the season, Bailey becomes Barnum's equal partner in the new Barnum & Bailey Circus.  Two years later, Barnum took the "Greatest Show on Earth" to England.  Barnum & Bailey was purchased by the Ringling Brothers in 1907.

Barnum approves plans and signs contract for the building of the Barnum Institute of Science and History to serve as a home for his adopted city's historical and scientific societies. Today, the structure is known as The Barnum Museum.

By the time P.T. Barnum died, on April 7, 1891, he had more than established himself as the world's premier promoter of family entertainment, the most shameless of showmen, and -- as he most liked to be known -- "the children's friend."   He is buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, CT.

In September, 1999, the A&E cable network released a movie about his life.  Much of the information here was found on the Biography.com web-site of A&E.  The dates were purposely left out.  If you want to know ABOUT Barnum, go check out A&E . . . if you want to learn about his effect on advertising . . . KEEP READING.