John Bill Ricketts
Encyclopedia
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
to the United States, began his theatrical career with Hughes Royal Circus in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the 1780s, and came over from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1792 to establish his first circus in Philadelphia.
He built a circus building in Philadelphia in the fall of 1792 in which he conducted a riding school. After training a group of Pennsylvania horses, on April 3, 1793 he gave America's first complete circus performance, which began a series of exhibitions two and three times a week.
Gilbert Stuart portrait
At present there is some debate as to the identity of the sitter for one of Gilbert StuartGilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...
's unfinished portraits. In 1878 the portrait of "John Bill Ricketts" was identified by George Washington Riggs
George Washington Riggs
George Washington Riggs was an American businessman and banker. He was known as "The President's Banker."- Life and work :...
, (also known as "The President's Banker"), a trustee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
in Washington, D.C., as "Breschard
Jean Baptiste Casmiere Breschard
Jean Baptiste Casmiere Breschard was a circus owner and equestrian performer in the Circus of Pepin and Breschard.Frenchman Breschard reintroduced the circus clown to the United States in 1807. Mme. Breschard, wife of Jean Baptiste, was a premier equestrienne and is described in numerous sources...
, the Circus Rider" and as ""Breschard
Jean Baptiste Casmiere Breschard
Jean Baptiste Casmiere Breschard was a circus owner and equestrian performer in the Circus of Pepin and Breschard.Frenchman Breschard reintroduced the circus clown to the United States in 1807. Mme. Breschard, wife of Jean Baptiste, was a premier equestrienne and is described in numerous sources...
" the painting was displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1880.
However, in 1970 the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
changed the identification from "Breschard" " to "Ricketts" and to this day the NGA has failed to explain the reason for this identity change
In popular culture
He was mentioned as the founder of the first Circus in America in the 2010 episode Metamorphosis of the CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
series Cold Case. The Ringmaster
Ringmaster
The term ringmaster may refer to numerous things:*Ringmaster , the leader of a circus* Ringmaster , the manager of a horse show ring*Ringmaster , a film starring Jerry Springer and Jaime Pressly...
of the fictional Jones Bros. Circus Biggie Jones, invoked his name as the managing corporation out of Florida of the circus "J.B. Ricketts Investments" as part of a coverup of a 1971 murder of a performer. Detective Kat Miller discovered that there was no Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) record as the company being the managing holder or even existing and the suspect, Biggie Jones, got Ricketts's name out of Wikipedia. Det. Miller stated that Ricketts died in 1799.
External links
- http://www.circusinamerica.org/public/people/public_show/67