Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-91) was born in Bethel, Connecticut, on July 5, 1810. Barnum did not invent the modern three-ring circus, nor did he even apply his flair for publicity to the circus until he was more than sixty years old; but his name continues to be associated with the spectacle that he called "the greatest show on earth." In 1835, one year after moving to New York City, having already worked as a clerk, a merchant, a...