Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index A circus is usually a travelling show that includes acrobats, animal trainers, clowns and other novelty acts. However, there are circuses today with a permanent venue that do not travel, and some circuses do not have animal acts. Table of contents 1 History of the circus 2 List of famous circuses and circus owners 3 List of famous circus performers 4 List and brief description of the various circus arts History of the circus The first modern circus was staged by Philip Astley in London, England on January 9, 1768. List of famous circuses and circus owners Cirque du Soleil P.T. Barnum Annie Fratellini Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus Archaos List of famous circus performers Emmett Kelly (clown) Austin Miles (clown), (ringmaster) Zip the Pinhead (freak / prodigy) List and brief description of the various circus arts Acrobatics Contortion Hand-to-hand balancing Aerial acts Tightrope walking Trapeze Corde lisse Spanish Web Animal training Equestrian acts Clown Fire eating Fire breathing Hoola hoop Human cannonball German wheel Juggling Chinese yoyo (Diabolo) Contact juggling Devil sticks Knife throwing Magic Mime Plate spinning Side show Sword swallowing Stilting Unicycle Poi Ventriloquism 'This article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by fixing it.'' This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.