Ringling, John portrait

During the Ringling brothers’ 1884 season, John Ringling (1866-1936) served as the circus clown. He was just eighteen at the time. It was not long, however, before he took over as the circus advance man. He was also responsible for routing the show. The last surviving brother, John ran the circus on his own from 1926 until 1932, at which point he was voted out of control by circus creditors and partners (Edith Ringling and Aubrey Ringling). From: Alfred Ringling, Life Story of the Ringling Brothers. Chicago, IL: R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Co., 1900, p. 19.