Tent

• In 1825, J. Purdy Brown used a tent for the first time for his traveling circus. The Circus Historical Society believes Brown used a tent because it allowed him to have greater space for his show. As the popularity of using a tent grew, many circuses and other traveling shows began to utilize more than one tent to lure spectators to their shows. A circus tent was first made out of cloth material. Soon, circus directors discovered that cloth would wear out quickly and not stand well in inclement weather. In 1850, Gilbert R. Spalding not only included side walls to raise the ceiling of the tent, he incorporated the use of canvas material, as well.
  
  

Animals

• Animals were first included as circus acts in 1819. Henri Martin, a French trainer, entered a tiger cage during a circus performance. Since then, lions, tigers, leopards, elephants and bears have all been introduced into the circus arena. Animal activists and animal rights organizations, such as PETA, protested the use of animals in an unnatural environments such as the circus and provided detailed accounts of animal abuse. As a result, the U.S. Department of Agriculture enacted the Animal Welfare Act, which provides guidelines by which circuses must abide.
  
  

Acts

• The first noted act of the circus involved trick-riders, or performers who performed tricks on the back of a galloping horse. As the circus traveled around the world, international acts were added to break down the language barrier and entice international citizens to see the show. Such acts included spinning plates, diving through hoops and balancing on perch poles. Since its inception, the circus included tight rope acts, acrobatics, the flying trapeze, displays of exotic and trained animals and clowns. In 1984, Guy Laliberte created the concept of including artistic and performance art in the circus, thus creating Cirque du Soleil.
  
  

Performers

• The first group of performers to perform in a circus involved jugglers, acrobats, rope-dancers and trick-riders. In 1871, Phineas Taylor Barnum and William Cameron Coup introduced the concept of the sideshow, which featured weird animals and human oddities displayed in an exhibition-like manner. The sideshow soon became the calling card of circuses. In a short time, other performers were incorporated into the show, including pantomimes, clowns, trapeze artists, aerialists and wild animal trainers.