Rufus Welch (September 1, 1800 – December 5, 1856) was a circus impresario in the early-19th century.

Life and career

Welch was born in New Berlin, New York. He initially was a chairmaker. In 1827 he started in the zoo business. By 1829 he was running a circus with Erman Handy and they took the circus to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. For much of the 1830s he was involved in running various menageries. These would often have 100 animals. Welch was a founding partner in the firm of Purdy, Welch and Macomber (PWM), the firm which ran the Boston Zoological Society, showing animals. In 1837 PWM went out of business and Welch turned to circuses because it required less capital investment. In 1837 he became the manager of the Lion Theatre Circus. In that year Welch had imported three giraffes from the African continent, which were the first of these animals brought to the USA. Welch leased the National Theatre in Philadelphia. He called his circus the National and at the end of each touring season performed a major show in Philadelphia. Starting in 1841 he was heavily involved with circuses in Philadelphia. From this period on he not only had animals but also acrobats and clowns in his circuses. In 1846 Welch joined forces with Dan Rice to run a circus in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Welch died in 1856 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

.''New York Times obituary for Welch''
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References

Sources

*www.circushistory.org/Olympians/OlympiansC1.htm *G. L. Chindahl. ''A History of the Circus in America''. (Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1959) p. 37-41, 77. {{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Rufus 1800 births American circus owners 1856 deaths Burials at The Woodlands Cemetery Businesspeople from Philadelphia People from New Berlin, New York 19th-century American businesspeople