Profile of the Day: John Ringling

John Ringling

Did you visit the circus growing up? On this day in 1936, John Ringling, co-founder of the Ringling Brothers Circus, died at the age of 70.

He was born Johan Nicholas Rüngeling on May 31, 1866 in McGregor, Iowa to German immigrants, Marie Salomé Juliar and August Rüngeling. In 1884, John and his brothers formed the Ringling Brothers Circus and traveled across the country with their show. Soon, they became a major competitor to the powerful Barnum & Bailey Circus.

By 1907, the Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus from James Bailey and P.T. Barnum, and formed a virtual monopoly of traveling circuses. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus debuted at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 29, 1919. Billed as “the greatest show on Earth,” the merger of the two troupes shaped the circus into what it is today.

Before the Great Depression, John Ringling had become one of the wealthiest men in the country and made Sarasota, Florida home to his family’s circus empire. He and his wife, Mable, built a 30-room mansion inspired by Venetian Gothic palaces and named the property Cà d’Zan, “The House of John.” However, the Depression severely hit his finances, and by the time of his death on December 2, 1936, he had lost his entire fortune.
 

View John Ringling’s Geni Profile

Image: Library of Congress