Ringling brothers


The Ringling brothers were seven American siblings who transformed their small touring company of performers into one of America's largest circuses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four brothers were born in McGregor, Iowa: Alfred T., Charles, John and Henry William, and the family lived in McGregor for twelve years, from 1860 until 1872. The Ringling family then moved to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and finally settled in Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1875. They were of German and French descent the children of harness maker Heinrich Friedrich August Ringling of Hanover, Germany, and Marie Salome Juliar of Ostheim, in Alsace. In 1919, They merged their Ringling Brothers Circus with America's other leading circus troupe, Barnum and Bailey, ultimately creating the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which became a staple of the entertainment world for some 98 years, until 2017.

The Ringling Brothers