ENTERTAINMENT: PT BARNUM, arson, resilience

KATHY MAHER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE BARNUM MUSEUM. 

The Barnum Museum in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut is the last surviving building attributed to the American visionary entrepreneur and entertainer Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891).

With more than 30 years in the museum world, Kathleen Maher is a gifted speaker and noted authority on all things related to Phineas Taylor Barnum. Kathy joined the Barnum Museum in 1998 and has been Executive Director since 2005.

In 2010, the Barnum Museum was struck by an EF1 tornado significantly damaging the historic landmark building, with additional damage sustained from hurricanes Irene and Sandy. In the wake of this tremendous challenge Kathy has been the Museum’s champion, leading the charge to restore and re-envision the historic structure. Under her leadership, the Museum is focusing on new and innovative methods, integrating history, arts, science and technology to create a dynamic 21st century Museum for the future.

Ms. Maher is an active member of the Connecticut cultural community, and an advocate for the city of Bridgeport’s historic and cultural legacy. She holds governor’s appointments to the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Council, the State Library and Museum of Connecticut History and Heritage, and the Connecticut Civil War Commemoration Commission. She advocates and speaks across the U.S. about historic preservation, urban revitalization and economic development through community arts and cultural heritage, and has been featured by major media properties including the History Channel, A&E Networks, Connecticut Public Television, TEDx, the BBC and National Public Radio. She holds a M.A. from New York University and has worked at cultural institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kathy is regularly sought and acknowledged by local and global media outlets for her expertise and her enthusiasm to share P.T. Barnum’s story with the world.

https://barnum-museum.org/

https://www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org/





P.T. Barnum, in full Phineas Taylor Barnum, (born July 5, 1810, Bethel, Connecticut, U.S.—died April 7, 1891, Bridgeport, Connecticut), American showman who employed sensational forms of presentation and publicity to popularize such amusements as the public museum, the musical concert, and the three-ring circus. In partnership with James A. Bailey, he made the American circus a popular and gigantic spectacle, the so-called Greatest Show on Earth.

Barnum was 15 years old when his father died, and the support of his mother and his five sisters and brothers fell largely upon his shoulders. After holding a variety of jobs, he became publisher of a Danbury, Connecticut, weekly newspaper, Herald of Freedom. Arrested three times for libel, he enjoyed his first taste of notoriety.

In 1829, at age 19, Barnum married a 21-year-old Bethel woman, Charity Hallett, who was to bear him four daughters.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/P-T-Barnum

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