John Nicholas Ringling (May 31, 1866 – December 2, 1936) was an American entrepreneur who is the best known of the seven
Ringling brothers
The Ringling brothers (originally Rüngling) were seven American siblings who transformed their small touring company of performers into one of the largest circuses in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four brothers ...
, five of whom merged the
Barnum & Bailey Circus
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...
with their own
Ringling Bros World's Greatest Shows to create a virtual
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
of traveling circuses and helped shape the modern
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...
. In addition to owning and managing many of the largest circuses in the United States, he was also a rancher, a real estate developer and art collector. He was inducted into the
Florida Artists Hall of Fame Florida Artists Hall of Fame recognizes artists who have made significant contributions to art in Florida. It was established by the Florida Legislature in 1986. There is a Florida Artists Hall of Fame Wall on the Plaza Level in the rotunda of the ...
in 1987.
Early circus life
![The five Ringling Brothers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/The_five_Ringling_Brothers.gif)
John was born in
McGregor, Iowa, the fifth son in a family of seven sons and a daughter born to a French mother, Marie Salomé Juliar, and German father, August Ringling (a farmer and harness maker). The original family name was "Ruengeling". Five of those sons worked together to build a circus empire.
The Ringlings started their first show in 1870 as "The Ringling Bros. United Monster Shows, Great Double Circus, Royal European Menagerie, Museum, Caravan, and Congress of Trained Animals", charging a penny for admission. In 1882, it was known as "The Ringling Bros. Classic and Comic Concert Company". By 1889, the circus was large enough to travel on
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
cars, rather than animal-drawn wagons.
In 1905, John married
Mable Burton
Mable Burton Ringling (March 14, 1875 – June 8, 1929) was an art collector who with her husband created the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.
Biography
She was born in Moons, Ohio on March 14, 1875. She had four sisters and one brother. M ...
. In 1907, the brothers bought the Barnum & Bailey circus for $400,000 from the estate of
James Anthony Bailey
James Anthony Bailey (July 4, 1847 – April 11, 1906), born James Anthony McGinnis, was an American owner and manager of several 19th-century circuses, including The Barnum and Bailey Greatest Show on Earth.
Early life
James Anthony McGinn ...
and ran the two circuses as separate entities until the end of the 1918 season. John worked the circus with his brothers, declaring "We divided the work; but stood together." John took the advance position, traveling ahead and booking the appearances and Charles was the operating manager.
Building the circus empire
![Sarasota Ringling estate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Sarasota_Ringling_estate.jpg)
After purchasing Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth from the estate of James Bailey in 1907 the Ringling brothers were recognized as the "Circus Kings" in the United States as they controlled not only the show that carried their own name, but also the Barnum & Bailey circus and the
Adam Forepaugh
Adam John Forepaugh (born Adam John Forbach; February 28, 1831 – January 22, 1890) was an American horse trader and circus owner. From 1865 through 1890 his circus operated under various names including Forepaugh's Circus, Forepaugh's Gigantic ...
and
Sells Brothers Circus
Sells Brothers Circus was a circus founded by Ephraim, William, Lewis and Peter Sells in Columbus, Ohio, United States.
History
The circus, more formally known as the Sells Brothers' Quadruple Alliance, Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus, ran ...
.
In the early 1900s the ranks of the brothers began thinning as
Otto
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded f ...
died unexpectedly in 1911. Four years later, the oldest sibling,
Al Ringling also died, followed by brother Henry in 1918. At the same time that family management was evolving, the Ringlings were challenged by keeping two mammoth circuses touring during World War I. Manpower shortages, combined with railroad restrictions and the
1918 flu pandemic
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
all contributed in the decision to merge the Ringling Bros World's Greatest Shows and the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth at the end of the 1918 season. On October 8, 1918 the Ringling Bros. season concluded after performances in
Waycross, Georgia
Waycross is the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Ware County in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 14,725 at the 2010 Census and dropped to 13,942 in the 2020 census.
Waycross includes two historic districts (Downtown ...
, and the circus trains were routed to the Barnum & Bailey Winter Quarters in
Bridgeport, Connecticut. During the winter of 1918-19 the two circuses were combined into one enormous show, and on March 29, 1919, the
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus debuted at
Madison Square Garden in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
After the death of
Alf T. Ringling in 1919, brothers John and Charles made the decision to move the Winter Quarters to
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...
, in 1927 where the brothers were having success in real estate speculation. Although a resident of Sarasota, Charles died in 1926 before the move was complete. With the death of brother Charles, John was now the last of the Ringling brothers. Although other family members had inherited stock in the company, as President he continued to manage the circus in the years prior to
The Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
.
During the 1920s, Ringling built Gray Crag, a 20-room manor house on an estate that was their summer residence in
Alpine, New Jersey, atop the
New Jersey Palisades
The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...
and overlooking the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
. Ringling would bring the circus troupe across the river from
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as en ...
, with acrobats and animals to entertain their guests at parties. With the financial and personal difficulties that Ringling faced during the
Great Depression, control of the property was lost and the house was ultimately demolished in November 1935.
In 1909 John and his wife, Mable began spending their winters in Sarasota. The couple bought bay front property from Mary Louise and Charles N. Thompson, another circus manager who engaged several members of the Ringling family in land investments on the Florida Gulf Coast. Ringling commissioned a 30-room mansion which was inspired by the Venetian Gothic palaces, designed by New York architect
Dwight James Baum
Dwight James Baum (June 24, 1886 – December 14, 1939) was an American architect most active in New York and in Sarasota, Florida. His work includes Cà d'Zan, the Sarasota Times Building (1925), Sarasota County Courthouse (1926), early reside ...
, and built by
Owen Burns, It was completed in 1926 and named
Cà d'Zan
Ca' d'Zan () is a Mediterranean revival mansion in Sarasota, Florida, adjacent to Sarasota Bay. Ca' d'Zan was built in the mid-1920s as the winter residence of the American circus mogul, entrepreneur, and art collector John Ringling and his wife ...
, "The House of John" in the Venetian dialect of Italian. Later a museum was built on the grounds of the estate for their art collection. Because of their investments in real estate and the later development of the circus winter quarters as a tourist attraction, John and his brother, Charles are seen as pioneers in the development of Sarasota. After some 40 years in the entertainment business, along with his ownership of railroads, oil field and ranches John had become one of the richest men in the world. In addition he was a world traveler as he was always looking for new acts for his circus. It was during these travels to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
that he began establishing a collection of old world masterpieces and a collection of
Baroque art including four pieces by
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...
, known as cartoons.
In 1929, John Ringling bought the
American Circus Corporation
The American Circus Corporation consisted of the Sells-Floto Circus, the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, the John Robinson Circus, the Sparks Circus, and the Al G. Barnes Circus. It was owned by Jerry Mugivan, Bert Bowers and Ed Ballard. They s ...
, which consisted of the
Sells-Floto Circus
The Sells Floto Circus was a combination of the Floto Dog & Pony Show and the Sells Brothers Circus that toured with sideshow acts in the United States during the early 1900s.
History
Frederick Gilmer Bonfils and Harry Heye Tammen owned the firs ...
, the
Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, the
John Robinson Circus
John H. Robinson created the John Robinson Circus, whose winter quarters were in Terrace Park, Ohio.
Famous elephants Chief
"Chief", an elephant from John Robinson's circus, killed his trainer in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tillie
Tillie the ...
, the
Sparks Circus,
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...
, and the
Al G. Barnes Circus. He bought them from
Jerry Mugivan,
Bert Bowers, and
Ed Ballard, for $1.7 million (approximately $ today). With that acquisition, Ringling owned all of the major traveling circuses in America.
In 1933, the last of the Brothers Ringling, ill and aging John, who had owned more circuses than any other man on earth and whose fortune was once estimated to be $50,000,000, hobbled into a Federal Court in Brooklyn to testify on the loan that brought him low. The firm that held his note was in bankruptcy. At a prize fight in 1929, Mr. Ringling related, he met William M. Greve, president of New York Investors, Inc. (realty), who agreed to lend him $1,700,000. As collateral Mr. Ringling put up one-half of all his circus stocks. Shortly afterward New York Investors sold the Ringling note to the now bankrupt subsidiary. While ill last year, Mr. Ringling had been unable to meet an interest payment of about $18,000. Financier Greve promptly marched out to Coney Island. Threatening to attach the circus receipts, Financier Greve demanded: "Put all your assets in a bag and give them to me."
That night, despite a fever of 104, Mr. Ringling was put in a wheelchair and brought to another room. Over the protest of his nurse he signed papers which gave most of his assets to New York Investors. Later he learned that swift Mr. Greve had formed a voting trust to hold the Ringling stocks and manage the circuses, another trust to hold some of the Titians, Rembrandts, Hals, Rubens from his famed collection in Sarasota, Fla. Mr. Ringling was left with nothing. But he was one of the five voting trustees, and as soon as he could pay off the loan he would get his bag of assets back.
Other businesses and activities
Ringling was involved in many businesses, including; railroads in Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas; oil in Oklahoma; real estate in Florida.
[Ingham, John N., (1983). - ''Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders: A-G''. - p.1177-1179. - ]
* Chatham and Phenix National Bank of New York, director and shareholder.
* Eastland, Wichita Falls and Gulf Railroad, from Mangum to Breckwalker.
* John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the official state art museum of Florida, located in Sarasota, Florida. It was established in 1927 as the legacy of Mable Burton Ringling and John Ringling for the people of Florida. Florida State Univ ...
, founder, Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...
.
*
John Ringling Real Estate Company, president, Sarasota.
* Kansas City, Mexico, and Orient Railroad Company, director.
* Madison Square Garden Corporation, vice-president, and chairman of the board.[ Herringshaw, Thomas William, (1922). - ''American Elite and Sociologist Bluebook''. - American Blue Book Publishers. - p.418.]
* Madison Square Garden Sporting Company, president.
* Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railway
The Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railway, known colloquially as the “Ringling Railroad,” ran from Ardmore, Oklahoma to Ringling, Oklahoma, with a branch to Healdton, Oklahoma. It was started in 1913, and was sold to an Atchison, Topeka a ...
(nicknamed the Ringling Railroad); president and financier. Chartered January 8, 1913, sold to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...
(AT&SF) in 1926. Jake L. Hamon was the operator and Ringling's business agent for the railroad.["RINGLING"]
- ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture''. - Oklahoma Historical Society.
"WILSON"
- ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture''. - Oklahoma Historical Society.[Robinson, Gilbert L. ]
- ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''. - Volume 19, No. 4. - December, 1941. - Oklahoma Historical Society. - p.368-376.
* Ringling and Oil Fields Railway, president. Chartered November 23, 1916, leased to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in July, 1925, and sold to the AT&SF in 1926.
* White Sulphur Springs and Yellowstone Park Railway The White Sulphur Springs and Yellowstone Park Railway , now defunct, was an American railroad built and operated between the towns of Ringling and White Sulphur Springs, Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of t ...
, president.[Schwantes, Carlos A., (2003). - ''Going Places: Transportation Redefines the Twentieth-Century West''. - Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. - p.129. - .]
—1918. - ''The Resources and Opportunities of Montana''. - Montana Department of Agriculture and Publicity. - p.179.
Namesakes
*Ringling, Montana
Ringling is an unincorporated community in southern Meagher County, Montana, United States, along the route of U.S. Route 89. The town was a station stop on the transcontinental main line of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ...
was named for John Ringling, who at one time was president of the White Sulphur Springs and Yellowstone Park Railway. John Ringling had a family summer home in White Sulphur Springs and purchased the hot springs there with the intent of building a resort spa and $1 million dollar 220-room hotel.
*Ringling, Oklahoma
Ringling is a town in Jefferson County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,037 at the 2010 census, a decline of 8.6 percent from the figure of 1,135 in 2000. It was named for John Ringling, the founder of the Ringling Brothers Circus.< ...
, also named for Ringling, when the Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railway created the town.
*The World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Liberty Ship
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...
was named in his honor.
*John Ringling Causeway
John Ringling Causeway (also known as Ringling Bridge or Gil Waters Bridge) is a bridge that extends past the Sarasota Bay, from Sarasota to St. Armands Key and Lido Key. The bridge, built in 2003, is a segmental box girder bridge named after ...
, a road bridge in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...
, over Sarasota Bay connecting Sarasota to Lido Key and Longboat Key
A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat ...
. Ringling lived in Sarasota during summers for many decades. Ringling had built the first bridge, in 1925. The current bridge is now the third one (the first one was replaced in 1950, the second one in 2000).
Decline in later life
Ringling's health soon began to fail and the Great Depression (which gripped the nation almost as soon as he acquired the American Circus Corporation) dealt a severe financial blow to the John Ringling empire. He lost virtually his entire fortune, but was able to retain his home, the museum and his extensive art collection. His wife, Mable, died in June 1929 and he remarried on June 19, 1930 to Emily Haag Buck in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Ringling was voted out of control of the business in 1932 by its board of directors and Sam Gumpertz was named vice president and general manager of the circus.
John and Emily Haag Buck divorced on July 6, 1936.
Death
John Ringling died on December 2, 1936 in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. He was the last Ringling brother to die, as well as the longest-lived of the Ringling brothers. He was the only brother to reach his 70s.[ Once one of the world's wealthiest men, he died with only $311 in the bank. At his death, he willed his Sarasota mansion, the museum, and his entire art collection to the state of ]Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. The house, Cà d'Zan, and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the official state art museum of Florida, located in Sarasota, Florida. It was established in 1927 as the legacy of Mable Burton Ringling and John Ringling for the people of Florida. Florida State Univ ...
offer visitors a glimpse into the lifestyle of the Roaring 20s
The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the U ...
and a renowned art collection. Another of John's legacies is the Ringling College of Art and Design
Ringling College of Art and Design (RCAD) is a private art and design school in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded by Ludd M. Spivey as an art school in 1931 as a remote branch of Southern College but separated by 1933.
History
The origins of ...
, which asked to adopt his name because of the cultural influence of the museum and its collection. A museum devoted to the Ringling Brothers Circus
Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows is a circus founded in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling brothers: Albert, August, Otto, Alfred T., Charles, John, and Henry. The Ringling brothers were sons of a Ge ...
has been established on the estate also.
After his death, the circus was operated by his nephew, John Ringling North, who sold the circus to Judge Roy Hofheinz
Roy Mark Hofheinz (April 10, 1912 – November 22, 1982), popularly known as Judge Hofheinz or "The Judge", was a Texas state representative from 1934 to 1936, county judge of Harris County, Texas from 1936 to 1944, and mayor of the city ...
of Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
and Washington, D.C. promoters Irvin Feld
Irvin Feld (April 19, 1918 – September 6, 1984) was a business entrepreneur who built a chain of record stores, promoted rock groups, produced concerts involving some of the biggest names in popular music. He was also the head of Ringling Bros ...
and Israel Feld in 1967.
In 1991, John and Mable Ringling and his sister, Ida Ringling North, were exhumed from their original resting places and reburied at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the official state art museum of Florida, located in Sarasota, Florida. It was established in 1927 as the legacy of Mable Burton Ringling and John Ringling for the people of Florida. Florida State Univ ...
, just in front and to the right of the Ca d'Zan. It is called the secret garden and John is buried between the two women.
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus eventually closed after 146 years; in the face of weakening attendance, animal rights protests, and high operating costs, it performed its final show on May 21, 2017, at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...
.
The Ringling family
There were seven Ringling brothers
The Ringling brothers (originally Rüngling) were seven American siblings who transformed their small touring company of performers into one of the largest circuses in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four brothers ...
and one sister (Ida), four of them (Alf, Al, Charles, and Otto) partnered with John to create the Ringling Bros. circus:[
* Albert Charles "Al" Ringling (1852–1916).
* Augustus Gustav "Gus" Ringling, Jr. (1854–1907); also listed as Charles August (Gus).]
* William Henry Otto "Otto" Ringling (1858–1911).
* Alfred Theodore "Alf T." Ringling (1861–1919).
* Charles Edward "Charley" Ringling (1863–1926); also listed birth year 1864.
* John Nicholas Ringling (1866–1936).
* Henry William George Ringling (1868–1918).
* Ida Loraina Wilhelmina Ringling (1874–1950).
References
External links
*
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ringling, John Nicholas
1866 births
1936 deaths
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus people
People from Alpine, New Jersey
People from McGregor, Iowa
People from Sarasota, Florida
American people of German descent
People from White Sulphur Springs, Montana