Lord George Sanger


Lord George Sanger was an English showman and circus proprietor. Born to a showman father, he grew up working in travelling peep shows. He successfully ran shows and circuses throughout much of the nineteenth century with his brother John. He retired in 1905 and was murdered by an employee in 1911.

Sanger was bornDecember, probably 1825, in Newbury, Berkshire to James Sanger. James Sanger, the son of a Wiltshire farmer, had been pressed into the service of the Royal Navy at a young age, where he learned conjuring tricks, and later, as a navy pensioner, became a showman. He and his wife, named Sarah Elliott, travelled the country in a caravan, showing human curiosities and a peep show. After they began to have children, the family settled in Trowbridge and then Newbury, where George was born. George Sanger was the sixth of ten children, and the youngest son. The children grew up helping with their fathers business. As a young man, Sanger made his first start in business, independent of his father, as an animal tamer. His first troupe consisted of canaries, redpoles, white mice and later, hares. He taught them to fire miniature cannons and walk tightropes. The show was a success and he exhibited at private parties, although he drew a few accusations of witchcraft from rural vil

Source: Wikipedia


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