3. Barnum and Bailey’s exhibited Jumbo, the World’s Largest Elephant
The first elephant known as Jumbo was probably born in late 1860 or early 1861, in Sudan, and was shipped as an infant to a German zoo. Later the elephant was displayed in the Jardin des Plantes (Garden of Plants) in Paris; still later, in 1865, he was sold to the London Zoo, where he was a popular attraction. In 1882 Jumbo (his name was a portmanteau of Swahili words: Jumbe, meaning chief and Jambo, meaning hello) was sold to P.T. Barnum, despite public outrage in London. His London keeper later wrote Jumbo’s “autobiography”. London schoolchildren wrote to Queen Victoria asking her to block the sale, but Her Majesty was not so moved.
Jumbo quickly became the star of Barnum’s show, and the consummate showman displayed the elephant at every opportunity outside of the circus, including having Jumbo lead a parade of elephants over the Brooklyn Bridge to persuade the public of the span’s safety. In 1885 Jumbo was being led to his stall following a performance when he was hit by a train (the circus often performed near railway yards, for ease of setup) and died almost instantly. Barnum first created a story that Jumbo had died while attempting to protect a smaller elephant of its entourage, and then had his prize exhibit divided up so that he could display it in as many diverse locations as possible. For example, the skeleton was sent to the American Museum of Natural History, where it remains, as it were.