Men of the Time, eleventh edition/Barnum, Phineas Taylor
BARNUM, Phineas Taylor, born at Bethel, Connecticut, July 5, 1810. He began business at the age of thirteen, and in 1834 removed to New York, where in 1841 he purchased the American Museum, by which in a few years he acquired a fortune. In 1856 he engaged Jenny Lind to visit America, to give 150 concerts, but the engagement was cancelled when 93 performances had been given. In 1855 he took up his residence at Bridgeport, Connecticut, and engaged largely in real estate and manufacturing enterprises. These were unsuccessful, and he became bankrupt. Having effected a compromise with his creditors, he resumed the management of the Museum, and soon retrieved his fortunes. He was twice burnt out—in 1865, and again in 1868, when he announced his retirement from business. The instinct of the showman, however, was too strong, and after a few years he reentered the field on a larger scale than ever. Mr. Barnum served one term in the Connecticut Legislature (1865), and was a candidate for Congress in 1866, but was defeated by his Democratic opponent. He has lectured upon temperance and other topics, and besides some smaller works has published: "The Life of P. T. Barnum, written by Himself," 1855; "The Humbugs of the World," 1865; and a sort of autobiography entitled "Struggles and Triumphs," 1869.