P. T. Barnum

Phineas Taylor Barnum was born in Bethel, Connecticut on July 5, 1810, to innkeeper, tailor, and store-keeper Philo Barnum and his second wife Irene Taylor

Barnum became a small business owner in his early twenties and founded a weekly newspaper before moving to New York City in 1834. 

He became intrigued by Joice Heth, A blind and almost completely paralyzed slave, she claimed to be George Washington's nurse and was reputed to be 161 years old. Barnum launched his showman career by successfully promoting her in the late 1830s.

Phineas Taylor "P. T." Barnum 

P. T. Barnum purchased Scudder's American Museum on the corner of Broadway and Ann Street in New York City in 1841. He converted it into a combination zoo, museum, lecture hall, wax museum, theater and freak show museum, which offered both strange and educational attractions. At its peak, the museum had as many as 15,000 visitors a day,  but on July 13, 1865 the building burned to the ground in one of the most spectacular fires New York has ever seen.

Barnum's American Museum had crowds that would linger inside too long. To make way for new paying guests, signs saying "This Way to the Egress" were put up. Not knowing Egress was another word for Exit, people followed the signs to what they assumed was a fascinating exhibit but ended up outside. They couldn’t re-enter without paying the entry fee again.

The Lecture Room of Barnum's American Museum, 1853

Barnum brought in 1847, to the United States, the Lancashire Bell Ringers under the pseudonym Swiss Bell Ringers. That label has been retained by all subsequent professional handbell groups. 

In 1850 Barnum brought Jenny Lind, the Swedish singer, to America, paying her an unprecedented $1,000 a night for 150 nights.

In 1871 he established the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’, which included the dwarf ‘General Tom Thumb’, a circus, a menagerie, and an exhibition of ‘freaks’, conveyed in 100 railway carriages.

He also brought Jumbo the Elephant and the Siamese twins Chang and Eng to an American public eager for spectacle.

Barnum has been quoted in history as saying "There's a sucker born every minute." However a banker named David Hannum coined the phrase; there is no record of Barnum saying this.

A liberal Republican, Barnum served in the Connecticut legislature (1865–9) and as mayor of Bridgeport (1875–6). He strongly supported the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which ended slavery.

In his later career as a politician, Barnum sponsored a law banning contraception in Connecticut that remained in effect until 1965.

Barnum married Charity Hallett on November 8, 1829,. They had four children one of whom died in infancy.

After his wife died on November 19, 1873, Barnum married English socialite Nancy Fish on February 14, 1874. She was 40 years his junior and their marriage was reported to be a happy one. 

Barnum suffered a stroke in 1890 during a performance. He quietly passed away at 6:22 pm at Marina, his residence in Bridgeport, Connecticut on April 7, 1891.

Barnum was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, Connecticut, a cemetery he designed.

The Barnum Effect is a common psychological phenomenon where people give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that seem tailored to them but are, in fact, vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people. This effect can provide a partial explanation for the widespread acceptance of some paranormal beliefs and practices as astrology and fortune telling, This term was coined in 1956 by American psychologist Paul Meehl in his essay Wanted — A Good Cookbook. He relates the vague personality descriptions used in certain "pseudo-successful" psychological tests to those given by P. T. Barnum. 

The Greatest Showman is a 2017 American musical drama film inspired by the story of P. T. Barnum's creation of Barnum's American Museum and the lives of its star attractions. Australian actor Hugh Jackman plays P.T. Barnum and Michelle Williams Charity Barnum.

Source Compton's Encyclopedia