Circus History Trivia

Before movies, television, or theme parks, the circus was the biggest show most people would ever see roll into town. This quiz traces its path from a London riding ring to the last performance of "The Greatest Show on Earth."

Showmen and Their Big Tents

Philip Astley didn't set out to invent the circus, he just noticed that a 42-foot ring produced the ideal centrifugal force for standing tricks on a cantering horse. That practical discovery became the standard circus ring size still used today. Decades later, P.T. Barnum and James Bailey turned the format into a traveling spectacle of scale, eventually merging with the Ringling brothers in 1919 to create a touring giant that lasted until 2017.

• Cirque du Soleil, founded in 1984, proved a circus could thrive without a single animal act.
• The "big top" tent could be raised and struck by circus crews in a matter of hours.
• Barnum & Bailey billed their combined show as "The Greatest Show on Earth."

Life on the High Wire

No circus act captured danger quite like the high wire. Charles Blondin's 1859 walk across Niagara Falls made him a sensation, and generations later the Flying Wallendas built an entire family reputation on daring, net-free formations, including seven-person pyramids performed dozens of feet in the air.