(1810–91), American showman; full name Phineas Taylor Barnum. He billed his circus, opened in 1871, as ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’; ten years later he founded the Barnum and Bailey circus with his former rival Anthony Bailey (1847–1906).
Definition of Barnum, P. T. in US English:
Barnum, P. T.
proper nounˈbärnəm
(1810–91), US showman; full name Phineas Taylor Barnum. He was noted for his extravagant advertising and exhibition of freaks at his museum in New York City. When his circus opened in 1871, he billed it as “The Greatest Show on Earth”; ten years later, he founded the Barnum and Bailey circus with former rival Anthony Bailey (1847–1906).