The circus, which writer Henry Miller famously called “a tiny closed-off arena of forgetfulness,” can be traced back to ancient Rome—particularly its circular amphitheaters that displayed gladiatorial combat, blood sports, chariot races, and less violent diversions such as the parading of trained animals. Records from ancient Egypt reveal acrobatics and juggling, whereas those of Greece show rope-dancing and China practiced juggling and acrobatics for the imperial court. Fairs were popular in Europe from the 7th century to the medieval period, first primarily centered on trading but then transforming into venues for entertainment.
The first modem circus is credited to Philip Astley, an Englishman whose talent in trick-riding led him to open a ring in 1768. Within two years, he expanded to showcasing a clown and other performers. After traveling to France and showing his horsemanship skills to King Louis XV at Fontainebleau, Astley opened an amphitheater in Paris. He left during the French Revolution, but the Italian Antonio Franconi, a member of a noble Venetian family, took it over and expanded it. Astley returned when Napoleon assumed power in France, and another circus was developed elsewhere in the city.
Charles Hughes, a former employee and now-rival of Astley, traveled to Russia to perform for Catherine the Great. He thus introduced the circus to Russia, albeit initially only centered on trick-riding. With Charles Dibdin, a famous pantomime, Hughes opened his own circus—in fact, he coined the phrase "circus," as "circus" is “circle” in Latin—in London.
The circus spread to the United States in the late 18th century when John Bill Ricketts brought exhibitions of trick-riding, rope-walking, a clown, and more to Philadelphia and New York. According to Britannica, “Ricketts’s productions featured a pantomime—or, as it came to be known, the 'spectacular,' or 'spec' in circus jargon. As in Astley’s circus, Ricketts’s specs sometimes dramatized famous battles, but they also evolved to re-create historical incidents, ancient myths, and Bible stories. Sometimes they consisted of a grand pageant in which the entire circus company, dressed in glittering costumes, paraded through the arena (the form in which the spec has endured into modern times).”
Circuses were usually in the form of theaters and housed in permanent or semi-permanent structures. Fire was the largest threat to them; several notable circuses were damaged or destroyed by accidental fires. By the mid-Victorian era, it was common for circuses to travel, but they were still using wooden buildings until the idea of canvas tenting became popular in America and spread to Europe. Victorian circuses began featuring aerial performances (the trapeze and tightrope), lion-taming, elephant acts, and juggling.
American circuses were often larger affairs due to the burgeoning railway lines crisscrossing the country. The University of Sheffield notes, “To accommodate the bigger attendances the circus owners added extra rings with larger tents, or tops. The circus show became an event with a large cast of performers, more extravagant animals, production numbers, and side-shows. Barnum and Bailey's circus train consisted of between sixty to seventy train carriages.” As Circopedia explains, "the unique character of the American circus emerged: It was a traveling tent-show coupled with a menagerie and run by businessmen, a very different model from that of European circuses, which for the most part remained under the control of performing families.”
As the Sheffield article concludes, “by the end of the nineteenth century the circus was an established and popular form of family entertainment, the aristocracy of traveling entertainment. Queen Victoria invited a range of circus showmen including P.T. Barnum to perform for the royal family at Windsor and Balmoral from the 1840s and this royal patronage secured its place as both an art form and one of the most popular of all the forms of entertainment exhibited during her reign.”
