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140-518: At age 15, Dixon joined the circus , where he quickly established himself as a singer. In 1829, he began performing "Coal Black Rose" in blackface; this and similar songs would propel him to stardom. In contrast to his contemporary Thomas D. Rice , Dixon was primarily a singer rather than a dancer. He was by all accounts a gifted vocalist, and much of his material was quite challenging. "Zip Coon" became his trademark song. By 1835, Dixon considered journalism to be his primary vocation. His first major paper

280-531: A 15-foot-long (five-meter) platform. Meanwhile, he did not give up his singing career. In early 1843, Dixon (now called "Pedestrian and Melodist") appeared at least once more at the Bowery Theatre, and he played on bills with Richard Pelham and Billy Whitlock . On January 29, he performed at a benefit for Dan Emmett . These concerts would be his last. Despite these excursions into athletics and entertainment, Dixon still considered himself an editor. He started

420-461: A broad variety of styles to convey complex themes or stories. Since the 1990s, a more avant-garde approach to presenting traditional circus techniques or "disciplines" in ways that align more closely to performance art, dance or visual arts has been given the name "contemporary circus." This labelling can cause confusion based upon the other use of the phrase contemporary circus to mean "circus of today." For this reason, some commentators have begun using

560-597: A cage with several big cats in 1833, and is generally considered to be the first wild animal trainer in American circus history. Mabel Stark was a famous female tiger-tamer. Animal rights groups have documented many cases of animal cruelty in the training of performing circus animals. The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) contends that animals in circuses are frequently beaten into submission and that physical abuse has always been

700-454: A change in the law was needed to protect circus animals. Gale told the BBC, "It's undignified and the conditions under which they are kept are woefully inadequate—the cages are too small, the environments they live in are not suitable and many of us believe the time has come for that practice to end." The group reported concerns about boredom and stress, and noted that an independent study by a member of

840-406: A circle and the building as an amphitheatre; these would later be known as a circus. In 1770, Astley hired acrobats , tightrope walkers , jugglers , and a clown to fill in the pauses between acts. Astley was followed by Andrew Ducrow , whose feats of horsemanship had much to do with establishing the traditions of the circus, which were perpetuated by Hengler's and Sanger 's celebrated shows in

980-461: A circus is of a Big Top with various acts providing entertainment therein; however, the history of circuses is more complex, with historians disagreeing on its origin, as well as revisions being done about the history due to the changing nature of historical research, and the ongoing circus phenomenon. For many, circus history begins with Englishman Philip Astley , while for others its origins go back much further—to Roman Empire times. In Ancient Rome,

1120-444: A considerable change in the character of the modern circus. In arenas too large for speech to be easily audible, the traditional comic dialogue of the clown assumed a less prominent place than formerly, while the vastly increased wealth of stage properties relegated to the background the old-fashioned equestrian feats, which were replaced by more ambitious acrobatic performances, and by exhibitions of skill, strength, and daring, requiring

1260-451: A crusade against a New York abortionist known as Madame Restell . He vowed to reprint an anti-Restell editorial every week until the authorities took notice or Restell stopped running newspaper ads for her abortion services. As for abortion itself, Dixon claimed that it subverted marriage by inhibiting procreation and encouraged female infidelity. Dixon kept his word, illustrating the editorial in later runs with woodcuts of Restell carrying

1400-471: A departing circus, collapsed, resulting in minor injuries to many but the death of Fanque's wife. Traveling circus companies also rented the land they set up their structures on sometimes causing damage to the local ecosystems. Three important circus innovators were the Italian Giuseppe Chiarini , and Frenchmen Louis Soullier and Jacques Tourniaire , whose early travelling circuses introduced

1540-708: A few. In some towns, there are circus buildings where regular performances are held. The best known are: In other countries, purpose-built circus buildings still exist which are no longer used as circuses, or are used for circus only occasionally among a wider programme of events; for example, the Cirkusbygningen (The Circus Building) in Copenhagen, Denmark, Cirkus in Stockholm, Sweden, or Carré Theatre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Stonington, Connecticut Stonington

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1680-524: A greedy, sordid, unscrupulous knave, of old; ... We are aware that men are judged by the company they keep and that we shall be blamed for having had anything to do with Dixon. Be it so.—We deserve rebuke, we have suffered for our folly and, if that is not enough, we are content to sit down in sackcloth and ashes; the meet attire of fools who trust to a person so vile that the English language cannot express his unmitigated baseness. In keeping with sexual morality at

1820-713: A huge explosion in Portuguese immigration to the village from the Azores via whaling vessels. The small granite Customs House faces Main Street just north of Cannon Square. The Groton and Stonington Street Railway was a trolley line created in 1904 to serve the Stonington area. The trolley was dismantled and replaced by buses in 1928. In recent decades, Stonington has experienced a large influx of new home owners using historic Stonington Borough houses as second homes. The town has undergone

1960-535: A later generation. In England circuses were often held in purpose-built buildings in large cities, such as the London Hippodrome , which was built as a combination of the circus, the menagerie, and the variety theatre, where wild animals such as lions and elephants from time to time appeared in the ring, and where convulsions of nature such as floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions were produced with an extraordinary wealth of realistic display. Joseph Grimaldi ,

2100-490: A letter to the New York Tribune and New York Herald alleging that Dixon was simply trying to extort money from her in return for an end to his agitation: Again and again have I been applied to by his emissaries for money, and as often have they been refused; and, as a consequence, I have been vilified and abused without stint or measure, which, of course, I expected, and, of the two, would prefer to his praise. During

2240-456: A more natural look. Daredevil stunt acts , freak shows , and sideshow acts are also parts of some circus acts, these activities may include human cannonball , chapeaugraphy , fire eating , breathing , and dancing , knife throwing , magic shows , sword swallowing , or strongman . Famous sideshow performers include Zip the Pinhead and The Doll Family . A popular sideshow attraction from

2380-609: A new Bill to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. The Wild Animals in Circuses Act 2019 came into effect on 20 January 2020. A bill to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in Wales was introduced in June 2019, and subsequently passed by the Welsh Parliament on 15 July 2020. Over 6,500 responses were made by the people of Wales, to the public consultation on

2520-592: A new paper called Dixon's Regulator by March, and he renewed his public crusade in New York. On February 22, 1846, he posted handbills around the city publicizing a meeting to protest further activities by Madame Restell. At the rally the next day, several hundred people listened to Dixon speak against the abortionist, calling for her neighbors to demand her eviction or else to take matters into their own hands. The crowd then walked to her residence three blocks away to shout threats but eventually dispersed. Restell responded with

2660-516: A newspaper called the Polyanthos and Fire Department Album . Dixon again championed the lower class and aimed to expose the sordid affairs of the rich, especially those who preyed upon lower-class women. An early Polyanthos alleged that Thomas Hamblin, manager of the Bowery Theatre, was engaging in an affair with Miss Missouri, a teen-aged performer there. Within ten days of publication, Miss Missouri turned up dead, reportedly killed by "inflammation of

2800-527: A pen— They dashed away and pray what then? This was not taking Stonington. But some assert, on certain grounds, (Beside the damage and the wounds), It cost the king ten thousand pounds To have a dash at Stonington. A memorial in Cannon Square at the center of Stonington Borough was constructed to memorialize the 1814 bombardment that became known as the Battle of Stonington . It consists of

2940-575: A performance there later that season. In the Americas during the first two decades of the 19th century, the Circus of Pepin and Breschard toured from Montreal to Havana, building circus theatres in many of the cities it visited. Victor Pépin , a native New Yorker, was the first American to operate a major circus in the United States. Later the establishments of Purdy, Welch & Co., and of van Amburgh gave

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3080-514: A ream of paper from the Morning Post , the principal competition to Harrington's Herald . The judge eventually dismissed the case, agreeing that the paper had been taken, but ruling that no proof pointed to Dixon as the one who had taken it. Dixon gave another post-trial speech, followed by a stage show on February 4. Not ten days after the end of the Harrington case, Dixon was charged with forging

3220-784: A reserve. On 1 February 1992 at the Great American Circus in Palm Bay, Florida , an elephant named Janet (1965 – 1 February 1992) went out of control while giving a ride to a mother, her two children, and three other children. The elephant then stampeded through the circus grounds outside before being shot to death by police. Also, during a Circus International performance in Honolulu, Hawaii , on 20 August 1994, an elephant called Tyke (1974 – 20 August 1994) killed her trainer, Allen Campbell , and severely mauled her groomer, Dallas Beckwith, in front of hundreds of spectators. Tyke then bolted from

3360-422: A revival of the circus tradition since the late 1970s, when a number of groups began to experiment with new circus formats and aesthetics, typically avoiding the use of animals to focus exclusively on human artistry. Circus companies and artistes within this movement, often termed "new circus" or "cirque nouveau," have tended to favor a theatrical approach, combining character-driven circus acts with original music in

3500-485: A riot against her and then published the inciting speech in the Polyanthos . He then targeted men who seduced young, working-class women, boarders who cheated their landlords, dysfunctional banks, and so-called British agents who were supposedly stirring up anti-American sentiment among American Indians and black slaves. Dixon claimed to be "a battering-ram against vice and folly in every shape", writing: The Polyanthos cannot die. The protecting Providence that watches over

3640-575: A signature on a bail bond pertaining to his previous debt from July 1835. He was sent to Lowell and jailed. The press responded with its usual glee: "George has been a great eulogist, the defender of the Constitution! But he cannot defend himself." At his hearing on February 15, bail was set at $ 1000, an unheard of amount for the time. Unable to pay, he was transferred to a jail in Concord, Massachusetts . Dixon's March 16 trial ended in conviction. His appeal to

3780-454: A skull-and-crossbones emblem. When the March 17 New York Courier quoted the New York grand jury as saying "We earnestly pray that if there is no law that will reach this [Madame Restell], which we present as a public nuisance , the court will take measures for procuring the passage of such a law", Dixon responded with the March 20 headline "Restell caught at last!" On March 22, Ann Lohman, part of

3920-533: A small town growing out of the Industrial Revolution. By April, he had taken the epithet "The National Melodist" and was editing Dixon's Daily Review . The paper took as motto "Knowledge—Liberty—Utility—Representation—Responsibility" and championed the Whig Party , Radical Republicanism , and the working class. Dixon's Daily Review also explored morality and women's place in the rapidly changing society of

4060-582: A time, and he appears as a singer and reciter of poems on bills dated from as early as February 1824. By early 1829, he had taken on the epithet "The American Buffo Singer". Over three days in late July 1829, Dixon performed " Coal Black Rose " in blackface at the Bowery , Chatham Garden , and Park theatres in New York City. The Flash characterized his audience as "crowded galleries and scantily filled boxes"; that is, mostly working-class. On September 24 at

4200-637: A trading house in the Pawcatuck section of town in 1649. The present territory of Stonington was part of lands that had belonged to the Pequot people , who referred to the areas making up Stonington as Paquatuck (Stony Brook to the Pawcatuck River ) and Mistack ( Mystic River to Stony Brook). It was named "Souther Towne" or Southerton by Massachusetts in 1658, and officially became part of Connecticut in 1662 when Connecticut received its royal charter. Southerton

4340-438: A variety of choreographed acts set to music, often termed "traditional" or "classical" circus, developed in the latter part of the nineteenth century and remained the dominant format until the 1970s. As styles of performance have developed since the time of Astley, so too have the types of venue where these circuses have performed. The earliest modern circuses were performed in open-air structures with limited covered seating. From

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4480-497: A variety of other routines. Juggling is one of the most common acts in a circus; the combination of juggling and gymnastics that includes acts like plate spinning and the rolling globe come under the category equilibristics , along with more classical balance disciplines such as tightwire, slackline and unicycle. Acts like these are some of the most common and the most traditional. Clowns are common to most circuses and are typically skilled in many circus acts; "clowns getting into

4620-419: A variety of venues including tents, theatres, casinos, cruise ships, and open-air spaces. Many circus performances are still held in a ring, usually 13 m (43 ft) in diameter. This dimension was adopted by Astley in the late eighteenth century as the minimum diameter that enabled an acrobatic horse rider to stand upright on a cantering horse to perform their tricks. A shift in form has been credited with

4760-406: A vocalist that ever bored the public ear." At the trial, held in mid-June, character witnesses testified that Dixon was "a harmless, inoffensive man, but destitute of business capacity" and "in reply to the question whether Dixon was non compos mentis , I consider him as being on the frontier line—sometimes on one side, and sometimes on the other, just as the breeze of fortune happens to blow." In

4900-438: A vocalist—for his Melodies display a feeling of Patriotism which attracts the attention of every beholder. In March, Dixon performed " Zip Coon " for the first time. Although Dixon had previously sung " Long Tail Blue ", another racist tale about a black " dandy " trying to fit into Northern white society, "Zip Coon" garnered acclaim and quickly became an audience favorite and Dixon's trademark tune. He later claimed to have written

5040-417: A wider popularity to the circus in the United States. In 1825, Joshuah Purdy Brown was the first circus owner to use a large canvas tent for the circus performance. Circus pioneer Dan Rice was the most famous pre- Civil War circus clown, popularising such expressions as "The One-Horse Show" and " Hey, Rube! ". The American circus was revolutionised by P. T. Barnum and William Cameron Coup , who launched

5180-467: A widespread reconditioning of these homes since the mid-1990s, when an altercation over property rights attracted substantial news coverage about Stonington's revitalization. Today, Stonington is home to the last commercial fishing fleet in Connecticut. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 50.0 sq mi (129.6 km ), of which 38.7 sq mi (100.2 km )

5320-409: Is a mulatto, and was, not many years ago, employed in this city, in an oyster house to open oysters and empty the shells into the carts before they were carried away. He is an impudent scoundrel, aspires to every thing, and was fit to be any body's fool. Somebody used his name (such as he called himself, for negroes have, by right, no surnames) as the publisher of a newspaper, in which every body, almost,

5460-878: Is a town located in New London County, Connecticut . The municipal limits of the town include the borough of Stonington , the villages of Pawcatuck , Lords Point , and Wequetequock , and the eastern halves of the villages of Mystic and Old Mystic . Stonington is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region . The population of the town was 18,335 at the 2020 census. The first European colonists to arrive include William Chesebrough and Walter Palmer in Wequetequock, Thomas Minor in Quiambaug, and Thomas Stanton in Pawcatuck. Stanton established

5600-532: Is at present the star. His third night is announced! Will some of the enlightened citizens of the emporium favor us with their opinion of his performance? Is his Zip Coon as thrilling as Mr Wood's "Still so gently o'er me stealing?" On 16 and April 30, Dixon played the Masonic Temple in Boston. There he included material to appeal to his lower-class audience, such as a popular tune that he had adapted with lyrics about

5740-408: Is land and 11.4 sq mi (29.4 km ) (or 22.68%), is water. In the waters off Stonington, the states of New York , Connecticut , and Rhode Island come together at a single point. Other minor communities include Deans Mill, Grand View Park, Greenhaven, Ledward Island, Ram Island , Road Church District, and Wamphassuc Point. Stonington has a humid continental climate ( Dfa/Dfb ) and

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5880-583: Is located in hardiness zones 6b/7a. As of the census of 2000, there were 17,906 people, 7,665 households, and 4,897 families residing in the town. The population density was 462.8 inhabitants per square mile (178.7/km ). There were 8,591 housing units at an average density of 222.1 per square mile (85.8/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 95.81% White , 0.63% Black or African American , 0.37% Native American , 1.26% Asian , 0.05% Pacific Islander , 0.46% from other races , and 1.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.30% of

6020-493: Is not capable of any sentiment requiring the appreciation of real or fancied injury. If he were kicked down stairs, he could not decide, until told by some one else, whether the kick was the result of accident or design, and if design, whether it was intended as a compliment or an insult. Dixon fought back in the Polyanthos by defending himself and his motives, and to some degree, he seems to have succeeded. The Herald for one admitted that his trial had exposed an unsavory facet of

6160-412: Is pursued, appears truly ridiculous. That he is disgusting, a nuisance, and a bore, we know—and so is a spider. Nobody would dream, however, of extinguishing the latter insect with a park of artillery; though all the city seem to have fancied that George Washington Dixon could be conquered with no less. The truth of him is, that he is a most unmitigated fool; and as to his pursuing any person with malice, he

6300-660: The New York Sun : Mr. Dixon, the singer (an American,) now made his appearance. "Let us have Zip Coon," exclaimed a thousand voices. The singer gave them their favorite song, amidst peals of laughter,—and his Honor the Mayor, who as the old woman said of her husband, is a "good-natured, easy fellow," made his appearance, delivered a short speech, made a low bow, and went out. Dixon, who had produced such amazing good nature with "Zip Coon," next addressed them—and they soon quietly dispersed. In early 1835, Dixon moved to Lowell, Massachusetts ,

6440-404: The circus was a roofless arena for the exhibition of horse and chariot races, equestrian shows, staged battles, gladiatorial combat, and displays of (and fights with) trained animals. The circuses of Rome were similar to the ancient Greek hippodromes , although circuses served varying purposes and differed in design and construction, and for events that involved re-enactments of naval battles,

6580-718: The Bartholomew Fair in London during the Middle Ages . The origin of the modern circus has been attributed to Philip Astley , who was born 1742 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, England. He became a cavalry officer who set up the first modern amphitheatre for the display of horse riding tricks in Lambeth, London, on 4 April 1768. Astley did not originate trick horse riding, nor was he first to introduce acts such as acrobats and clowns to

6720-511: The Boston Fire Department . Nevertheless, he also reached out to a richer, middle-class patronage. For example, he played alongside a classically trained pianist, and he billed the performance as a "concert", a word typically reserved for high-class, non-blackface entertainment. Dixon earned a third of the gross from this engagement: $ 23.50. He still owed money to the printer of Dixon's Daily Review , so these earnings were put in trust for

6860-601: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on April 17 resulted in a hung jury, and his prosecutors dropped the charges against him. He gave another of his by now trademark post-trial addresses. The Boston Post wrote: "I begin to think that the Melodist bears a charmed life—and as was often said to be done in olden time, has made a bargain with the Being of Darkness for a certain term of years, during which he may defy

7000-859: The Mexican–American War , Dixon added some timely political references to "Zip Coon" and briefly returned to the public eye. Another crusade seems to have drawn Dixon away from New York in 1847. He was probably one of the first Radical Republicans to entrench himself as a filibuster in the Yucatán in a bid to annex more territory for the United States. 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 unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term "circus" also describes

7140-708: The News Letter and was selling it in Lowell and Boston . If he did, no copies are known to have survived. By February 1836, Dixon was touring again. He played many well-attended shows in Boston that month and did a play at the Tremont Theatre . His recent forays into publishing had soured his image in the popular press, however, and The New York Times satirized his lower-class audience: Tremont Teatre. At this classical establishment, Mr Dixon, "the American Buffo singer,"

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7280-728: The Pickle Family Circus , founded in San Francisco in 1975; Ra-Ra Zoo in 1984 in London ; Nofit State Circus in 1984 from Wales ; Cirque du Soleil , founded in Quebec in 1984; Cirque Plume and Archaos from France in 1984 and 1986 respectively. More recent examples include: Cirque Éloize (founded in Quebec in 1993); Sweden's Cirkus Cirkör (1995); Teatro ZinZanni (founded in Seattle in 1998);

7420-464: 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 significantly over the next 50 years, with large-scale theatrical battle reenactments becoming a significant feature. The format in which a ringmaster introduces

7560-607: The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University "found no evidence that circuses contribute to education or conservation."; however, in 2007, a different working group under the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs , having reviewed information from experts representing both the circus industry and animal welfare, found an absence of "scientific evidence sufficient to demonstrate that travelling circuses are not compatible with meeting

7700-609: The 13th century, through medieval and renaissance jesters, minstrels and troubadours to the late 18th century and the time of Astley. The first circus in the city of Rome was the Circus Maximus , in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills. It was constructed during the monarchy and, at first, built completely from wood. After being rebuilt several times, the final version of the Circus Maximus could seat 250,000 people; it

7840-650: The 1970s in Australia, Canada, France, the West Coast of the United States, and the United Kingdom. New Circus combines traditional circus skills and theatrical techniques to convey a story or theme. Compared with the traditional circus, this genre of circus tends to focus more attention on the overall aesthetic impact, on character and story development, and on the use of lighting design , original music, and costume design to convey thematic or narrative content. Music used in

7980-818: The American Founding Fathers. Oratory made up another facet of his act; on December 4, 1832, the Baltimore Patriot reported that Dixon would read an address from the President at the Front Street Theatre . In 1833, he started a small newspaper called the Stonington Cannon . However, the publication saw little success, and by January 1834, he was performing again, now with new talents, such as ventriloquism . Dixon seemed untarnished by his yearlong hiatus. Reviews said that "his voice seems formed of

8120-456: The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show On Earth, where it toured from 1897 to 1902, impressing other circus owners with its large scale, its touring techniques (including the tent and circus train), and its combination of circus acts, a zoological exhibition, and a freak show. This format was adopted by European circuses at the turn of the 20th century. The influence of the American circus brought about

8260-740: The Bowery, Dixon performed Love in a Cloud , a dramatic interpretation of the events described in "Coal Black Rose" and possibly the first blackface farce . These performances proved a hit, and Dixon rose to celebrity, perhaps before any other American blackface performer had done so. On December 14, Dixon's benefit at the Albany Theatre grossed $ 155.87, the largest take there since the opening night earlier that year. Dixon performed through 1834, most frequently at New York's three major theatres. In addition to blackface song-and-dance numbers, he did whiteface songs and scenes from popular plays; much of his material

8400-407: The English public, but he was the first to create a space where all these acts were brought together to perform a show. Astley rode in a circle rather than a straight line as his rivals did, and thus chanced on the format of performing in a circle. Astley performed stunts in a 42 ft diameter ring, which is the standard size used by circuses ever since. Astley referred to the performance arena as

8540-751: The Italian Antonio Franconi in 1793. In 1826, the first circus took place under a canvas big top. The Englishman John Bill Ricketts brought the first modern circus to the United States. He began his theatrical career with Hughes Royal Circus in London in the 1780s, and travelled from England in 1792 to establish his first circus in Philadelphia . The first circus building in the US opened on 3 April 1793 in Philadelphia, where Ricketts gave America's first complete circus performance. George Washington attended

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8680-490: The Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have locally restricted or banned the use of animals in entertainment. In response to a growing popular concern about the use of animals in entertainment, animal-free circuses are becoming more common around

8820-504: The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to an end in 2014 when The Humane Society of the United States and a number of other animal rights groups paid a $ 16 million settlement to Feld Entertainment; however, the circus closed in May 2017 after a 146-year run when it experienced a steep decline in ticket sales a year after it discontinued its elephant act and sent its pachyderms to

8960-586: The Soviet gymnastics programme. When the Moscow State Circus company began international tours in the 1950s, its levels of originality and artistic skill were widely applauded. Circuses from China, drawing on Chinese traditions of acrobatics , like the Chinese State Circus are also popular touring acts. New Circus (originally known as cirque nouveau ) is a performing arts movement that originated in

9100-604: The United States, bringing with him a circus tent. At this time, itinerant circuses that could be fitted-up quickly were becoming popular in Britain. William Batty 's circus, for example, between 1838 and 1840, travelled from Newcastle to Edinburgh and then to Portsmouth and Southampton. Pablo Fanque , who is noteworthy as Britain's only black circus proprietor and who operated one of the most celebrated travelling circuses in Victorian England, erected temporary structures for his limited engagements or retrofitted existing structures. One such structure in Leeds, which Fanque assumed from

9240-403: The West African Circus Baobab (late 1990s); and Montreal's Les 7 doigts de la main (founded in 2002). The genre includes other circus troupes such as the Vermont-based Circus Smirkus (founded in 1987 by Rob Mermin ) and Le Cirque Imaginaire (later renamed Le Cirque Invisible, both founded and directed by Victoria Chaplin , daughter of Charlie Chaplin ). The most conspicuous success story in

9380-522: The ability to write a letter Miss Nancy-Coal-Black-Rose Dixon cannot begin to write ten consecutive words of the English language, and he must have encountered "the Schoolmaster abroad" in the Athenian city that teaches "penmanship in six lessons," and that lately too if he can sign his name. By the end of 1836, Dixon had moved to Boston and started a new paper, the Bostonian; or, Dixon's Saturday Night Express . The paper focused on working-class issues, religious values, and opposition to abortion . It followed

9520-455: The act" is a very familiar theme in any circus. Famous circus clowns have included Austin Miles , the Fratellini Family , Rusty Russell, Emmett Kelly , Grock , and Bill Irwin . The title clown refers to the role functions and performance skills, not simply to the image of red nose and exaggerated facepaint that was popularised through 20th Century mass media. While many clowns still perform in this styling, there are also many clowns who adopt

9660-436: The amount of bail one iota!" It did not. Nevertheless, a notorious New York madam named Adeline Miller paid it, and Dixon walked free. Only a month later, though, she had sent Dixon back to jail for unknown reasons. Facing seven counts (four from Hawks and three from the Minturns), the singer and editor remained incarcerated for two months while he awaited trial. The Minturn case came first, on April 15, 1839. After three days,

9800-522: The arena and ran through the streets of Kakaako for more than thirty minutes. Police fired 86 shots at Tyke, who eventually collapsed from the wounds and died. In December 2018, New Jersey became the first state in the U.S. to ban circuses, carnivals and fairs from featuring elephants, tigers, and other exotic animals. In 1998 in the United Kingdom, a parliamentary working group chaired by MP Roger Gale studied living conditions and treatment of animals in UK circuses. All members of this group agreed that

9940-405: The average family size was 2.88. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males. The median income for a household in the town

10080-512: The brain caused by the violent misconduct of Miss Missouri's mother and the publication of an abusive article in The Polyanthos ." On July 28, Hamblin accosted Dixon. Another assault in August prompted Dixon to start carrying a pistol. Undaunted, Dixon continued his attacks on Hamblin and others in the Polyanthos . He exposed another alleged affair, this between a merchant named Rowland R. Minturn and

10220-571: The broad categories of juggling, equilibristics, acrobatics, aerial and clowning. These disciplines can be honed into individual acts, which can be performed independently and marketed to many different prospective circus employers, and also used for devising solo or collaborative work created specifically for a single project. Common acts include a variety of acrobatics , gymnastics (including tumbling and trampoline ), aerial acts (such as trapeze , aerial silk , corde lisse , Lyra or Ariel hoop , circus hammok ), contortion , stilt-walking , and

10360-720: The case, brought against Feld Entertainment International by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals et al., the Court ruled that evidence against the circus company was "not credible with regard to the allegations". In lieu of a USDA hearing, Feld Entertainment Inc . (parent of Ringling Bros.) agreed to pay an unprecedented $ 270,000 fine for violations of the Animal Welfare Act that allegedly occurred between June 2007 and August 2011. A 14-year litigation against

10500-575: The circus to Latin America, Australia, Southeast Asia, China, South Africa, and Russia. Soullier was the first circus owner to introduce Chinese acrobatics to the European circus when he returned from his travels in 1866, and Tourniaire was the first to introduce the performing art to Ranga, where it became extremely popular. After an 1881 merger with James Anthony Bailey and James L. Hutchinson's circus and Barnum's death in 1891, his circus travelled to Europe as

10640-499: The circus was flooded with water; however, the Roman circus buildings were not circular but rectangular with semi circular ends. The lower seats were reserved for persons of rank; there were also various state boxes for the giver of the games and his friends. The circus was the only public spectacle at which men and women were not separated. Some circus historians such as George Speaight have stated "these performances may have taken place in

10780-486: The conductor of the orchestra to pick up at a later date. Dixon and the printer grew impatient and presented a forged note to the trustee to collect early. Within a few days, Dixon was arrested and jailed in Boston. The press took the opportunity to castigate him again: " George Washington Dixon , now cormorant of Boston jail , and ex-publisher, ex-editor, ex-broker, ex-melodist, &c., is quite out of tune." The Boston Courier called Dixon "the most miserable apology for

10920-616: The contemporary circus' shift toward more theatrical techniques and its emphasis on human rather than animal performance, traditional circus companies still exist alongside the new movement. Numerous circuses continue to maintain animal performers, including UniverSoul Circus and the Big Apple Circus from the United States, Circus Krone from Munich, Circus Royale and Lennon Bros Circus from Australia, Vazquez Hermanos Circus , Circo Atayde Hermanos, and Hermanos Mayaror Circus from Mexico, and Moira Orfei Circus from Italy, to name just

11060-413: The courts were not over. Around September 16, he allegedly assaulted Peter D. Formal, who was taking down bills that Dixon had posted. Dixon failed to appear for his October court date, and he skipped later dates on 1 and November 11. On November 19, he again was placed under arrest for obscenity as part of a citywide campaign by the district attorney to fight yellow journalism . On January 13, 1842, Dixon

11200-690: The draft Bill, 97% of which supported the ban. The use of wild animals in travelling circuses has been banned in Scotland. The Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (Scotland) Act 2018 came into force on 28 May 2018. There are nationwide bans on using some if not all animals in circuses in Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mexico,

11340-529: The early 19th century was the flea circus , where fleas were attached to props and viewed through a Fresnel lens . A variety of animals have historically been used in acts. While the types of animals used vary from circus to circus, big cats (namely lions , tigers , and leopards ), foxes , wolves , polecats , minks , weasels , camels , llamas , elephants , zebras , horses , donkeys , birds (like parrots and doves ), sea lions , bears , monkeys , and domestic animals such as cats and dogs are

11480-450: The ears, under the chin and on their legs with metal tipped prods, called bullhooks. Feld stated that these practices are necessary to protect circus workers. Feld also acknowledged that an elephant trainer was reprimanded for using an electric shock device, known as a hot shot or electric prod, on an elephant, which Feld also stated was appropriate practice. Feld denied that any of these practices harm elephants. In its January 2010 verdict on

11620-430: The employment of immense numbers of performers, and often of complicated and expensive machinery. From the late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, travelling circuses were a major form of spectator entertainment in the US and attracted huge attention whenever they arrived in a city. After World War II, the popularity of the circus declined as new forms of entertainment (such as television) arrived and

11760-449: The end, he was found not guilty when the prosecution failed to satisfy that he had known the document to be a forgery. Dixon took the opportunity to give a speech to the public outside. He then returned to the stage, earning a considerable $ 527.50 in late July. Dixon was still guilty in the eyes of the press, however, and his letters to clear his name only made things worse: Mister Zip Coon is at his old tricks again. So far from possessing

11900-408: 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

12040-571: The first European country to ban any animal from performing in any circus in its territory in February 2012, following a campaign by Animal Defenders International and the Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF). On 6 June 2015, the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe adopted a position paper in which it recommends the prohibition of the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. Despite

12180-694: The first mainstream clown , had his first major role as Little Clown in the pantomime The Triumph of Mirth; or, Harlequin's Wedding in 1781. The Royal Circus was opened in London on 4 November 1782 by Charles Dibdin (who coined the term "circus"), aided by his partner Charles Hughes, an equestrian performer. In 1782, Astley established the Amphithéâtre Anglais in Paris, the first purpose-built circus in France, followed by 18 other permanent circuses in cities throughout Europe. Astley leased his Parisian circus to

12320-571: The graduating class of the French circus school Le Centre National des Arts du Cirque (CNAC), directed by Joseph Nadj. In contrast to New Circus, Contemporary Circus (as a genre) tends to avoid linear narrative in favour of more suggestive, interdisciplinary approaches to abstract concepts. This includes a strong trend for developing new apparatus and movement languages based on the capacities, experience and interests of individual performers, rather than finding new ways to present traditional repertoire. Beyond

12460-501: The great arenas that were called 'circuses' by the Romans, but it is a mistake to equate these places, or the entertainments presented there, with the modern circus". Others have argued that the lineage of the circus does go back to the Roman circuses and a chronology of circus-related entertainment can be traced to Roman times, continued by the Hippodrome of Constantinople that operated until

12600-471: The husband-and-wife team behind the Restell name, was arrested. Dixon claimed vindication and covered the trial over several issues of the Polyanthos . After her conviction on July 20, he wrote, "the monster in human shape ... has ... been convicted of one of the most hellish acts ever perpetrated in a Christian land!" On September 12, a man in the street struck Dixon in the head with an ax, which prompted some of

12740-404: The jailhouse, he was arrested for a charge leveled by Rowland Minturn's brothers that Dixon's article had resulted in the man's death. Bail was raised to $ 9000, an enormous amount, which Dixon protested. The prosecution argued that "The accused is a criminal of the blackest dye , and by his infamous publication is morally guilty of no less than three murders, and I hope the court will not diminish

12880-472: The jury came back unable to reach a verdict, and the Minturn brothers dropped the charges. Dixon returned to jail, but Hawks dropped his charges from four to three. The judge lowered bail to $ 900 on April 20, and Dixon walked free. The press renewed their attacks on him: To those who know the true character, and something of the personal history of this imbecile vagrant, the exuberance of indignation with which he

13020-449: The keeping of animals for circuses. A survey confirmed that on average, wild animals spend around 99 to 91 percent of their time in cages, wagons, or enclosure due to transportation. This causes a huge amount of distress to animals and leads to excessive amounts of drooling. City ordinances banning performances by wild animals have been enacted in San Francisco (2015), Los Angeles (2017), and New York City (2017). Greece became

13160-409: The late eighteenth to late nineteenth century, custom-made circus buildings (often wooden) were built with various types of seating, a center ring, and sometimes a stage. The traditional large tents commonly known as "big tops" were introduced in the mid-nineteenth century as touring circuses superseded static venues. These tents eventually became the most common venue. Contemporary circus is performed in

13300-519: The lead of the Daily Review in exposing allegedly immoral affairs of well known Bostonians. One story told of two personalities eloping. Other Boston papers called the story false, and the Boston Herald labeled Dixon a "knave". Dixon fired back, depicting the paper's editor, Henry F. Harrington , as a monkey. In early 1837, Dixon was again in legal trouble. Harrington accused Dixon of stealing half

13440-490: The majesty of the law, and the wrath of his enemies." Another stage tour followed, with concerts in Lowell, New England, and Maine. This was an apparent success, with one reviewer saying that Dixon had "a voice which all unite in pronouncing to be of remarkable richness and compass." That Fall, he may have contemplated a tour with James Salisbury , a black musician and dancer well known in lower-class districts of Boston such as Ann Street . Instead, he appeared on December 6 at

13580-628: The method for training circus animals. It is also alleged that the animals are kept in cages that are too small and are given very little opportunity to walk around outside of their enclosure, thereby violating their right to freedom. According to PETA, although the US Animal Welfare Act does not permit any sort of punishment that puts the animals in discomfort, trainers will still go against this law and use such things as electric rods and bullhooks . According to PETA, during an undercover investigation of Carson & Barnes Circus, video footage

13720-437: The most common. The earliest involvement of animals in circus was just the display of exotic creatures in a menagerie . Going as far back as the early eighteenth century, exotic animals were transported to North America for display, and menageries were a popular form of entertainment. The first true animals acts in the circus were equestrian acts. Soon elephants and big cats were displayed as well. Isaac A. Van Amburgh entered

13860-453: The music itself— 'it thrills , it animates' ..." The Telegraph wrote, Few Melodists have gained more celebrity or been so universally admired, ... The many effusions from the pen of this gentleman independent of his vocal powers, is sufficient proof of his being a man of considerable talent and originality—you should hear him sing his national air "on a wing that beamed in glory" [and it would be] unnecessary for us to enlarge on his merits as

14000-412: The name of the black character in one of his songs. However, the weight of evidence suggests that if Dixon did have black ancestry, it was fairly remote. A newspaper story from 1841 claims that at age 15, Dixon's singing caught the attention of a circus proprietor named West. The man convinced Dixon to join his traveling circus as a stablehand and errand boy. Dixon traveled with this and other circuses for

14140-465: The new circus genre has been that of Cirque du Soleil , the Canadian circus company whose estimated annual revenue exceeds US$ 810 million in 2009, and whose cirque nouveau shows have been seen by nearly 90 million spectators in over 200 cities on five continents. The genre of contemporary circus is largely considered to have begun in 1995 with 'Le Cri du Caméléon', an ensemble performance from

14280-429: The only positive press Dixon ever enjoyed that was not related to his singing. The Uncle Sam praised his editing and writing: "Go on martyr of virtue, go on and prosper! Go on getting out extras, and defending the sacredness of the marriage institution. Go on through malice, opposition, fiery trials, persecutions and assassinations—posterity will do thee justice ... !" Even with positive press, Dixon's troubles with

14420-455: The performance aspect of circus, is the Social Circus field, catalysed by Reg Bolton. Social Circus engages communities through circus practice and activity to provide health and well-being benefits. A traditional circus performance is often led by a ringmaster who has a role similar to a Master of Ceremonies . The ringmaster presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps

14560-409: The population. There were 7,665 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and

14700-451: The production is often composed exclusively for that production, and aesthetic influences are drawn as much from contemporary culture as from circus history. Animal acts rarely appear in new circus, in contrast to traditional circus, where animal acts have often been a significant part of the entertainment. Early pioneers of the new circus genre included: Circus Oz , forged in Australia in 1977 from SoapBox Circus (1976) and New Circus (1973);

14840-585: The public eye; he became a "pedestrian", a long-distance sport walker . The participation of Dixon, a blackface singer and dancer, in these contests presaged the challenge dances of performers such as Master Juba and John Diamond in the next few years. In February, he competed to win $ 4,000 by walking 48 hours without stopping. When the prize failed to materialize, Dixon charged admission to watch him. Later that month, Dixon tried to break this record by walking 50 hours. His publicity was, as usual, bad. Brother Jonathan gave this advice: "walk in one direction all

14980-580: The public with innovative new approaches to the circus form itself. In 1919, Lenin , head of Soviet Russia , expressed a wish for the circus to become "the people's art-form", with facilities and status on par with theatre, opera and ballet. The USSR nationalised Russian circuses. In 1927, the State University of Circus and Variety Arts , better known as the Moscow Circus School , was established; performers were trained using methods developed from

15120-415: The public's tastes changed. From the 1960s onward, circuses attracted growing criticism from animal rights activists. Many circuses went out of business or were forced to merge with other circus companies. Nonetheless, a good number of travelling circuses are still active in various parts of the world, ranging from small family enterprises to three-ring extravaganzas. Other companies found new ways to draw in

15260-418: The safety of the just, and defeats the machinations of the wicked, will make it bloom ... We prophesy that the latest descendant of the youngest newsboy will animate his hearers with the desire to emulate the enviable fame of DIXON! Our name will be handed down to the end of time as one of the most independent men of the nineteenth century! Our very hat will become a relic. On February 16, 1841, Dixon turned to

15400-463: The show moving. The activity of the circus traditionally takes place within a ring; large circuses may have multiple rings, like the six-ringed Moscow State Circus . A circus often travels with its own band, whose instrumentation in the United States has traditionally included brass instruments , drums, glockenspiel , and sometimes the distinctive sound of the calliope . Performers have been traditionally referred to as artistes, although in recent years

15540-614: The song, although others performed it before him, so this seems unlikely. Dixon accompanied his singing with an earthy jig . On July 7, the Farren Riots erupted. Young men in New York City targeted the homes, businesses, churches, and institutions of black New Yorkers and abolitionists . On the night of July 9, the mob stormed the Bowery Theatre. Manager Thomas S. Hamblin failed to quell them, and actor Edwin Forrest did not meet their expectations when they ordered him to perform. According to

15680-478: The term "21st Century Circus" to encompass all the various styles available in the present day. 21st Century Circus continues to develop new variations on the circus tradition while absorbing new skills, techniques, and stylistic influences from other art forms and technological developments. For aesthetic or economic reasons, 21st Century Circus productions may often be staged in theaters rather than in large outdoor tents. First attested in English fourteenth century,

15820-524: The term artists has also come into regular use. To some performers from multi-generational circus families, the term artiste is still preferred as it is considered to confer higher status than artist. Conversely, some performers from the circus school training route taken by many of the newer generations prefer the term artist as it is considered to be less pretentious than artiste. The physical and creative skills that circus artist/es perform are known as disciplines, and are often grouped for training purposes into

15960-480: The time, Dixon and his colleagues sometimes checked bordellos for cleanliness, friendliness, and other factors. Snelling drew from this, linking Dixon to organized prostitution and alleging that he had connections to a madam named Julia Brown . Eventually, another editor named George B. Wooldridge joined with Dixon for a few issues of the True Flash , but they did not sell well. Rumors circulated at this time that Dixon

16100-510: The time, from this part of the compass, till ocean fetches him up, and then see how far he can swim." He walked for 60 hours that summer in Richmond, then did 30 miles (48 km) in five hours and 35 minutes in Washington, D.C. Dixon tried many other feats of endurance. For example, in late August, he stood on a plank for three days and two nights with no sleep. In September, he paced for 76 hours on

16240-464: The town surrender. The town Selectmen replied with a note which stated, "We shall defend the place to the last extremity; should it be destroyed, we shall perish in its ruins." Hardy's squadron then bombarded Stonington for three days using stinkpots , while American forces in the town responded by firing at the British warships with two 18-pounder cannons . The only American casualty from the bombardment

16380-469: The travelling P. T. Barnum's Museum, Menagerie & Circus , the first freak show , in the 1870s. Coup also introduced the first multiple-ring circuses, and was also the first circus entrepreneur to use circus trains to transport the circus between towns. By the 1830s, sideshows were also being established alongside travelling circuses. In 1838, the equestrian Thomas Taplin Cooke returned to England from

16520-701: The two 18-pounder cannons that were used by American forces during the engagement and a granite obelisk. From the 1790s onward, Stonington experienced an economic upturn as its harbor became home to a fleet of American merchant ships engaged in seal hunting , targeting whales off the Patagonian coastline and selling their skins in China . Six sealing ships from Stonington commanded by Benjamin Pendleton set sail in 1820 to hunt whales off Deception Island , and on November 16, 1820 Nathaniel Palmer first sighted Palmer Land , which

16660-513: The upper class. Nevertheless, on May 10, Dixon changed his plea to guilty regarding one count, and the next day did the same for the other two. He was sentenced to six months of hard labor at the New York State Penitentiary at Blackwell's Island . Dixon reportedly responded, "This is a pretty situation for an editor." He would later claim that Hawks had paid him $ 1000 to change his plea. The press reacted with its usual fervor: Dixon

16800-458: The upper-class Opera Saloon , singing selections from popular operas. His fame (or notoriety) served to get him listed as a candidate for the Boston mayoral race in December. Dixon won nine votes, despite his polite refusal to serve should he be elected. Dixon performed in Boston through the end of February 1838. That spring, he moved to New York City, where he re-entered the publishing business with

16940-574: The urban North. Dixon's criticism of his colleagues did not win him any friends, and in June, the Boston Post reported that he had "flogged one of the editors of the Lowell Castigator , and was hunting after the other." By the next month, Dixon had sold his paper, and the new publishers were eager to point out that Dixon no longer had anything to do with its production. By August, rumors were circulating that Dixon had started up another paper called

17080-524: The welfare needs of any type of non-domesticated animal presently being used in the United Kingdom. " According to that group's report, published in October 2007, "there appears to be little evidence to demonstrate that the welfare of animals kept in travelling circuses is any better or any worse than that of animals kept in other captive environments." A ban prohibiting the use of wild animals in circuses in England

17220-507: The welfare of circus animals in 2008. The following issues, among others, were found: Based on these findings, the researchers called for more stringent regulation regarding the welfare of circus animals. In 2012, the Dutch government announced a ban on the use of wild circus animals. In testimony in U.S. District Court in 2009, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus CEO Kenneth Feld acknowledged that circus elephants are struck behind

17360-466: The wife of a shipmaker named James H. Roome. Twelve days after the publication, Roome killed himself. Another article alleged that Francis L. Hawks , an Episcopalian rector and reverend at the St. Thomas Church of New York, had been engaging in illicit sexual behavior. On December 31, Dixon was in court, charged with libel . Dixon spent a week in jail, then paid the $ 2000 bail. However, before he could even leave

17500-599: The word "circus" derives from Latin circus , which is the romanization of the Greek κίρκος ( kirkos ), itself a metathesis of the Homeric Greek κρίκος ( krikos ), meaning "circle" or "ring." In the book De Spectaculis , early Christian writer Tertullian claimed that the first circus games were staged by the goddess Circe in honor of her father Helios , the Sun God. The modern and commonly held idea of

17640-528: The world. In 2009, Bolivia passed legislation banning the use of any animals, wild or domestic, in circuses. The law states that circuses "constitute an act of cruelty." Circus operators had one year from the bill's passage on 1 July 2009 to comply. In 2018 in Germany, an accident with an elephant during a circus performance prompted calls to ban animal performances in circuses. PETA called the German politicians to outlaw

17780-447: Was Dixon's Daily Review , which he published from Lowell, Massachusetts , in 1835. He followed this in 1836 with Dixon's Saturday Night Express , published in Boston . By this point, he had taken to using his paper to expose what he considered the misdeeds of the upper classes. These stories earned him many enemies, and Dixon was taken to court on several occasions. His most successful paper

17920-479: Was $ 52,437, and the median income for a family was $ 63,431. Males had a median income of $ 45,596 versus $ 32,069 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 29,653. About 2.9% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line , including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over. Stonington has been used for several on-location movie shoots, including Steven Spielberg 's Amistad and Julia Roberts ' Mystic Pizza . It

18060-400: Was an elderly woman who was already mortally ill, while Hardy's squadron suffered several killed and wounded before sailing away on August 12. American poet Philip Freneau wrote: The bombardiers with bomb and ball Soon made a farmer's barrack fall, And did a cow-house badly maul That stood a mile from Stonington. They kill'd a goose, they kill'd a hen Three hogs they wounded in

18200-465: Was born in Richmond, Virginia , probably in 1801, to a working-class family. He may have been educated at a charity school . Fairly detailed descriptions and portraits of Dixon survive; he had a swarthy complexion and a "splendid head of hair". However, the question of whether he was white or black is an open one. His enemies sometimes called him a " mulatto ", a " Negro ", or referred to him as "Zip Coon",

18340-838: Was built of stone and measured 400m in length and 90m in width. Next in importance were the Circus Flaminius and the Circus Neronis , from the notoriety which it obtained through the Circensian pleasures of Nero. A fourth circus was constructed by Maxentius ; its ruins have helped archaeologists reconstruct the Roman circus. For some time after the fall of the Western Roman Empire , large circus buildings fell out of use as centres of mass entertainment. Instead, itinerant performers, animal trainers, and showmen travelled between towns throughout Europe, performing at local fairs, such as

18480-501: Was captured showing animal care director Tim Frisco training endangered Asian elephants with electrical shock prods and instructing other trainers to "beat the elephants with a bullhook as hard as they can and sink the sharp metal hook into the elephant's flesh and twist it until they scream in pain". On behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands, Wageningen University conducted an investigation into

18620-591: Was due to be passed in 2015, but Conservative MP Christopher Chope repeatedly blocked the bill under the reasoning that "The EU Membership Costs and Benefits bill should have been called by the clerk before the circuses bill, so I raised a point of order". He explained that the circus bill was "at the bottom of the list" for discussion. The Animal Defenders International non-profit group dubbed this "a huge embarrassment for Britain that 30 other nations have taken action before us on this simple and popular measure". On 1 May 2019 Environmental Secretary Michael Gove announced

18760-452: Was indicted for the charges in absentia . A warrant was issued for his arrest on April 13. By this time, he had handed the Polyanthos to Louse Leah , and the charges were eventually dropped. In late 1841, Dixon had gotten into another row with a colleague. William Joseph Snelling obtained a warrant against him, and Dixon countersued. Snelling wrote anonymously in the Flash : We know him for

18900-498: Was libelled. He is now caged, and, we may hope, will, when he comes out of prison, go to opening oysters, or some other employment appropriate to his habits and color. Dixon served out his sentence then returned to New York. He resumed the Polyanthos , emerging as the leader of a cadre of like-minded editors interested in exposing immorality. Dixon now focused his efforts on Austrian dancer Fanny Elssler , whom he accused of sexual misconduct. On August 21, 1840, he went so far as to rally

19040-553: Was named for him. The Stonington Harbor Light is a low stone building erected in 1840. In 1925, it became the flagship museum of the Stonington Historical Society , making it the oldest lighthouse museum in America. During the 19th century, Stonington supported a small fishing, whaling, and sealing fleet that carried out trade with the West Indies —with enough volume for it to be made a port of entry in 1842. This saw

19180-578: Was quite challenging. Dixon's fame allowed him to pepper his material with satire and political commentary. On November 25, 1830, he sang before a crowd of 120,000 in Washington, D.C., in support of the July Revolution in France. He began selling a collection of songs and skits he had popularized called Dixon's Oddities in 1830; the book remained in print long after. Dixon mostly played to a working-class audience, including in his repertoire such songs as "The New York Fireman", which compared firefighters to

19320-497: Was renamed "Mistick" in 1665, and finally named Stonington in 1666, meaning "stony town". The town of North Stonington was set off as a parish from Stonington in 1724 and incorporated as a town in 1807. Sir Thomas Hardy led a British squadron during the War of 1812 consisting of HMS Ramillies , HMS Pactolus , HMS Dispatch , and HMS Terror . The ships appeared off Stonington Point on August 9, 1814, and Hardy demanded that

19460-438: Was the Polyanthos , which he began publishing in 1838 from New York City. Under its masthead, he challenged some of his greatest adversaries, including Thomas S. Hamblin , Reverend Francis L. Hawks , and Madame Restell . After a brief foray into hypnotism, "pedestrianism" (long-distance walking), and other pursuits, he retired to New Orleans , Louisiana . Details about Dixon's childhood are scarce. The record suggests that he

19600-564: Was to be married, but sources disagreed over the identity of the fiancée; one said she was a Congressman's daughter, another that she was a madam. The Flash published a story that Brown and a prostitute named Phoebe Doty had been seen fighting over the Melodist. If Dixon did marry, no record survives of it. Beginning in 1842, Dixon took on a number of new occupations, including animal magnetist and spiritualist specializing in clairvoyance . A fad for public competitions and feats of endurance served as another vehicle for him to keep his name in

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