John Ringling

John Nicholas Ringling (May 31, 1866 – December 2, 1936) is the most well-known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Brothers Circus to create a virtual monopoly of traveling circuses and helped shape the circus into what it is today. He was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1987.^[1]

Early circus life

John was born in McGregor, Iowa, the fifth son in a family of seven sons and a daughter born to German immigrants, Marie Salomé Juliar and August Ringling (a farmer and harness maker). The original family name was "Ruengling". Five of those sons worked together to build a circus empire.^[2]

The Ringlings started their first show in 1870 as the "The Ringling Brothers 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 Brothers Classic and Comic Concert Company".

By 1889, the circus was large enough to travel on railroad cars, rather than animal-drawn wagons. Admission rose to 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children.

In 1905, John married Mable Burton. In 1907, the brothers bought the Barnum & Bailey circus for $400,000 and ran the two circuses as separate entities for a few years. 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. The Ringling Brothers Circus was renowned for its honesty and fair-dealing

Building the circus empire

The Cà d'Zan mansion in Sarasota was designed for Mable and John Ringling by Dwight James Baum and built by Owen Burns

Ringling's brother Otto died unexpectedly in 1911, and Al died in 1916. It soon was apparent that running two circuses was more than the remaining brothers could handle. So on March 29, 1919, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus debuted at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The posters declared, "The Ringling Brothers World's Greatest Shows and the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth are now combined into one record-breaking giant of all exhibitions!!"

Alfred T. Ringling died in 1919 and Charles took over the management and brought the circus to winter quarters in Sarasota and seven years later, Charles Ringling died in 1926, leaving John to manage the empire.^[3]

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 and overlooking the Hudson River. Ringling would bring the circus troupe across the river from Yonkers, New York, 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.^[4][5]

In 1927 Ringling moved the winter headquarters to Sarasota, Florida, where he and his wife, Mable, had been spending winters since 1909. Property was bought from the city government and shows were put on during the winter for the first time. Mable and John bought bay front property from Mary Louise and Charles N. Thompson, another circus manager who interested all of the Ringlings in land investments at Sarasota. A 30-room mansion inspired by the Venetian Gothic palaces, was designed by New York architect Dwight James Baum, built by Owen Burns, and completed in 1926. It was named Cà d'Zan, "The House of John" in the Venetian dialect of Italian . Later a museum was built for their art collection. He and his brother, Charles, were instrumental in the modern development of Sarasota. John soon became one of the richest men in the world. His circus travels took him all over Europe, and he established a collection of Baroque art. He also acquired a large collection of work by Peter Paul Rubens, called cartoons.

In 1929, John Ringling bought the American Circus Corporation, which consisted of the Sells-Floto Circus, the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, the John Robinson Circus, the Sparks Circus, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and the Al G. Barnes Circus from its owners, Jerry Mugivan, Bert Bowers, and Ed Ballard, for $1.7 million.^[6] With that acquisition, Ringling owned every traveling circus in America.^[7]

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.^[2][8]

• Chatham and Phoenix National Bank of New York, director and shareholder.^[9][10]
• Eastland, Wichita Falls and Gulf Railroad, from Mangum to Breckwalker.^[11]
• John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, founder, Sarasota, Florida.^[8]
• John Ringling Real Estate Company, president, Sarasota.^[8]
• Kansas City, Mexico, and Orient Railroad Company, director.^[12]
• Madison Square Garden Corporation, vice-president, and chairman of the board.^[8][9]
• Madison Square Garden Sporting Company, president.^[9]
• Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Pacific Railway (nicknamed the Ringling Railroad); president and financier. Charted January 8, 1913, sold to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) in 1927. Jake L. Hamon was the operator and Ringling's business agent for the railroad.^{[9][13][14][15]}
• Ringling and Oil Field Railway Company, 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.^[9][14]
• White Sulphur Springs and Yellowstone Park Railway, president.^[16]

Namesakes

• Ringling, Montana was named for John Ringling,^[17] who at one time was president of the White Sulphur Springs and Yellowstone Park Railway.^[16] 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.^[18]

• Ringling, Oklahoma, also named for Ringling, when the Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railway created the town.^[13]

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.^[19]

Ringling was voted out of control of the business in 1932 by its board of directors and Sam Gumpertz was placed in corporation.

John and Emily Haag Buck divorced on July 6, 1936.^[20][21]

Death

John Ringling died on December 2, 1936 in New York City^[20][22] Once one of the world's wealthiest men, he died with only $311 in the bank.^[23] At his death, he willed his Sarasota mansion, the museum, and his entire art collection to the state of Florida. The house, Cà d'Zan, and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art offer visitors a glimpse into the lifestyle of the Roaring 20s and a renowned art collection. Another of John’s legacies is the Ringling College of Art and Design, 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 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 the Feld family in 1967.^[24]

In 1991, John and Mable Ringling and his sister, Ida Ringling North, were buried at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 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. On the date of John Ringling's birthday, neighboring New College students will sneak there at night and place a cigar on John's grave.

The Ringling family

There were seven Ringling brothers and one sister (Ida), four of them (Alf, Al, Charles, and Otto) partnered with John to create the Ringling Bros. circus:^{[25][26][27][28]}

• Albert Charles "Al" Ringling (1852–1916)
• Augustus Gustav "Gus" Ringling, Jr. (1854–1907); also listed as Charles August (Gus)^[25][26]
• William Henry Otto "Otto" Ringling (1858–1911)^[29]
• Alfred Theodore "Alf T." Ringling (1861–1919)
• Charles Edward "Charley" Ringling (1863–1926); also listed birth year 1864^[30]
• John Nicholas Ringling (1866–1936)
• Henry William George Ringling (1868–1918)^[31]
• Ida Loraina Wilhelmina Ringling (1874–1950)^[32]

References

External links

• John Ringling at Find a Grave
• The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
• The Official Virtual Tour of Ringling Museum of Art