HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Otto Ringling (born William Henry Ringling; 1858 – March 31, 1911) was an American
Circus 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 unicy ...
man, businessman, and the third oldest of the Ringling brothers. He was the co-founder of the Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows, which eventually became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was called the "Lieutenant General" of the Ringling family. Upon his death, the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' described him as "a man of great ideas and ambition, and an executive of force and character." He was nicknamed "The King" in the circus business.


Early life

William Henry Ringling was born in 1858 in
Baraboo, Wisconsin Baraboo ( ) is the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, located along the Baraboo River. The population was 12,556 at the 2020 census. The most populous city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo micropo ...
. He was nicknamed "Otto". His parents were Marie Salome (Juliar), of Ostheim, France, and Heinrich Friedrich August Ringling (1826–1898), of Hanover, Germany. He was the third of the Ringling brothers to be born, following Albert and Augustus. He was born into a musical family, with each member of the family being able to play an instrument. Baraboo became an economically unstable town, and the family relocated to Iowa. Ringling, along with his brothers, made horse harnesses in
McGregor, Iowa McGregor is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 742 at the time of the 2020 census. McGregor is located on the Mississippi River across from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Pike's Peak State Park is located just sou ...
. Eventually, the brothers started touring in Iowa, playing music.


Circus career and mid-life

After concert tours, the brothers got involved in the circus. During the early days of the Ringling Bros. circus, Ringling took tickets and money, and served as
publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for work or a project such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists wh ...
. He was called the "Lieutenant General" by his brothers, becoming the head of the family and the family business. He was responsible for bringing the talents of his brothers, and eventually blending the merged Barnum & Bailey shows, into solid performances. He was the primary decision maker regarding the company finances and business decisions. Ringling was described as
recluse A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion and solitude. The word is from the Latin , which means 'to open' or 'disclose'. Examples of recluses are Symeon of Trier, who lived within the great Roman gate Porta Nigra with permissio ...
, and remained single his entire life, never marrying. He cared for horses, loved books, and studied mathematics. His favorite books were history, classics, and contemporary literature of the day. When he traveled with the circus, he had his own private train car, equipped with his own library.


Later life and death

Starting in 1909, Ringling suffered from
Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...
. In 1910, he sent
John Ringling John Nicholas Ringling (May 31, 1866 – December 2, 1936) was an American entrepreneur who is the best known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Brothers Circus, Ringling Br ...
his
will and testament A will and testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property (estate (law), estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its fi ...
. Ringling trusted John more than any of his brothers, as John showed the least interest in the monetary and business aspects of the family business. Ringling died suddenly, in 1911, at the home of John, located on
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, New York. He was buried in Walnut Hill Cemetery in Baraboo, Wisconsin, next to his parents.


Legacy

Upon his death, he left
trust money In Australia, trust money in the legal industry is the money a law practice holds on behalf of a client or other people in the course of, or in connection with, the provision of legal services. Trust money is required to be held by a law firm on ...
to his sister and numerous nieces and nephews. He also left money to staff members. Among his brothers, he left money and his
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
. He also requested that his portrait be removed from future promotional materials. The brothers did not remove his image, instead, they stopped using the group portraits in any of their advertising.


Further reading

*Hildebrandt, Greg and Tim Hildebrandt. ''How Otto Ringling became king of the circus''. New York: McGraw-Hill (1998).


References


External links


Letter from Otto Ringling, October 26, 1907
from
Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...
, and hosted at the
World Digital Library The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress. The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ringling, Otto 1858 births 1911 deaths People from Baraboo, Wisconsin Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus people People from McGregor, Iowa