We all know the names of The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. They have been one of the biggest Circus troupes of all time. They truly have an amazing history, particularly if you have a chance to read it in detail. From Wikipedia:
“Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth. The company was started in 1919 when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses separately until they were finally merged in 1919.”
There were many circus acts before them, some quite spectacular in their own rights. I have put together a collection of phots I have pulled from various sources. I hope you will enjoy!
As a side note, what circus is complete without freaks, I included some of them here. It was hard for me to include these because of the obvious exploitation of these people. On the other hand, their notoriety brought them a type of respect and fellowship which otherwise would they would not have had.
I included a lot of photos in this post, please enjoy each of them and let me know your favorites!

Walt Disney Circus

1894 St. Petersburg Russia

Ruth Davis, the penguin girl had seal limbs a disease called phocomelia. It is what gave her the penguin appearance.

Prince Randian He was known as the living torso, human caterpillar, pillow man, and the human cigar. He was born in 1871 and died in December 1934.

Mademoiselle Gabrielle was born in Switzerland in 1884. She was a perfect lady until you got to her torso, and then she just ended

Born as Simon Metz was born in the Bronx in 1901. He was born with microlephaly a disorder that gave him a small brain and the IQ of a 3yr He was beloved to all and died in 1971
Prince Randian was actually a pretty interesting man! He was married and had five children, his amazing story can be found in more detail here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Randian