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Ephraim Williams (circus Owner)
Ephraim Williams (July 19, 1860 – December 13, 1921) was an American circus owner. Also known as Prof. Eph Williams, he was the first Black circus owner in the United States in the 1880s, and he was likely the only Black circus owner in the country until his death. He owned several circuses including the ''Ferguson and Williams Monster Show'', ''Professor Williams' Consolidated American and German Railroad Shows'', and an all-Black tent show named '' Silas Green from New Orleans'', which became one of the longest-running tent shows in history. He called himself "The Black P.T. Barnum". In 1897, the ''Freeman'' newspaper described him as "the only Negro circus owner in America." Biography Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Williams spent his formative years in Medford, Wisconsin. In Wisconsin Williams worked at the Briggs Hotel and the "saloon business" and took up "horse training as a hobby." Williams became an accomplished horse trainer, horse performer, and magician under his s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riverside Cemetery (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)
Riverside Cemetery is located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2003. Founding and expansion of cemetery On March 6, 1855, the city of Oshkosh purchased a land parcel from Maria Grignon for creation of a cemetery. The parcel was located on the east bank of the Fox River and was named Riverside Cemetery. It was built as a replacement for the Locust Grove Cemetery, which was the first burial ground in Oshkosh and built in 1848. Between 1855 and 1869, the remains of those buried in Locust Grove were moved to Riverside Cemetery. In 1855, the Riverside Catholic cemetery was laid out north of the cemetery and expanded further in 1875. In 1868, a parcel was purchased east of the Riverside Cemetery by Masons. In 1882, the city purchased in the north edge of the Catholic plots. In 1887, the city sold off to the Catholic Church. In 1914, an additional were purchased from H. C. Rogers, expanding the cemetery to , the current size ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dog And Pony Show
"Dog and pony show" is a colloquial term that has come to mean a highly promoted, often over-staged performance, presentation, or event designed to sway or convince opinion for political, or less often, commercial ends. Typically, the term is used in a pejorative sense to connote disdain, jocular lack of appreciation, or distrust of the message being presented or the efforts undertaken to present it. Origins The term was originally used in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to small traveling circuses that toured through small towns and rural areas that were too sparsely populated or remote to attract larger, more elaborate performers or performances. The name derives from the common use of performing dogs and ponies A pony is a type of small horse, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
19th-century African-American Businesspeople
The 19th century began on 1 January 1801 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 (MCM). It was the 9th century of the 2nd millennium. It was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolished in much of Europe and the Americas. The First Industrial Revolution, though it began in the late 18th century, expanded beyond its British homeland for the first time during the 19th century, particularly remaking the economies and societies of the Low Countries, France, the Rhineland, Northern Italy, and the Northeastern United States. A few decades later, the Second Industrial Revolution led to ever more massive urbanization and much higher levels of productivity, profit, and prosperity, a pattern that continued into the 20th century. The Catholic Church, in response to the growing influence and power of modernism, secularism and materialism, formed the First Vatican Council in the late 19th century to deal with such problems and confirm cer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1921 Deaths
Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish liner ''Santa Isabel'' breaks in two and sinks off Villa Garcia, Mexico, with the loss of 244 of the 300 people on board. * January 16 – The Marxist Left in Slovakia and the Transcarpathian Ukraine holds its founding congress in Ľubochňa. * January 17 – The first recorded public performance of the illusion of "sawing a woman in half" is given by English stage magician P. T. Selbit at the Finsbury Park Empire variety theatre in London. * January 20 – British K-class submarine HMS K5, HMS ''K5'' sinks in the English Channel; all 57 on board are lost. * January 21 – The full-length Silent film, silent comedy drama film ''The Kid (1921 film), The Kid'', written, produced, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin (in his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1860 Births
Events January * January 2 – The astronomer Urbain Le Verrier announces the discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan (hypothetical planet), Vulcan at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts collapses, killing at least 77 workers. * January 13 – Battle of Tétouan, Morocco: Spanish troops under General Leopoldo O'Donnell, 1st Duke of Tetuan defeat the Moroccan Army. * January 20 – Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour is recalled as Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia. February * February 20 – Canadian Royal Mail steamer (1859) is wrecked on Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, on passage from the British Isles to the United States with all 205 onboard lost. * February 26 – The 1860 Wiyot Massacre, Wiyot Massacre takes place at Tuluwat Island, Humboldt Bay in northern California. * February 26, February 27 – Abraham Lincoln makes his Cooper Union speech, Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Circus Performers Of African Descent
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term "circus" also describes the field of performance, training, and community which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not the inventor of the medium, Newcastle-under-Lyme born Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus. In 1768, Astley, a skilled equestrian, began performing exhibitions of trick horse riding in an open field called Ha'penny Hatch on the south side of the Thames River, England. In 1770, he hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers, and a clown to fill in the pauses between the equestrian demonstrations and thus chanced on the format which was later named a "circus". Performances developed si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
