Beautiful Jim Key was a famous performing

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

around the turn of the twentieth century. His promoters claimed that the horse could read and write, make change with money, do arithmetic for "numbers below thirty," and cite

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

passages "where the horse is mentioned." His trainer, "Dr." William Key, was a former slave, a self-trained veterinarian, and a patent medicine salesman. Key emphasized that he used only patience and kindness in teaching the horse, and never a whip. The horse became a celebrity thanks to the progressive promotion of A. R. Rogers. The horse performed at large venues from Atlantic City to Chicago, and was made an honorary member of George Thorndike Angell's

American Humane Association American Humane (AH) is an organization founded in 1877 committed to ensuring the safety, welfare, and well-being of animals. It was previously called the International Humane Association before changing its name in 1878. In 1940, it became t ...

Tours

Beautiful Jim Key and his trainer periodically toured the

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in a special railroad car to promote the fledgling cause of the humane treatment of animals. They performed in venues in most of the larger American cities, including New York’s

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. The horse was among the most popular attractions at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Beautiful Jim Key was supposedly intelligent enough that he could calculate mathematical problems, possibly even

trigonometry Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies. T ...

. President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

saw Beautiful Jim Key perform at an exposition in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and declared, “This is the most astonishing and entertaining exhibition I have ever witnessed.” The President also commented that it was an example of what “kindness and patience” could accomplish.

References

{{reflist *“A Tribute to Jim Key,” Atlanta Constitution, December 23, 1898

External links

Digitized documents and images concerning Beautiful Jim Key in the Tennessee Virtual Archive (TeVA)Article at Horseforum.com on "Doc Key and 'Beautiful Jim Key.'"Article at the blog Horse & Man on "Beautiful Jim Key."
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pACXxtbvVA Videowith more pictures and information about Jim Key Trick horses Animal intelligence

Tours

See also

References

External links