Historian Tim O'Brien will present a program featuring the life and times of Robert Ripley, often called the 20th Century P.T. Barnum, at The Barnum Museum on Thursday, November 1, 2018, starting at 7:00 p.m.
Most people have heard and perhaps even have used the expression ‘believe it, or not’ at some point in their lives. But most people do not know where the phrase comes from. It was Robert Ripley, the 20th-century P.T. Barnum. An anthropologist, cartoonist, and entrepreneur, Ripley ingeniously aggrandized trivia and popularized the ordinary and unusual. As a writer for William Randolph Hearst syndicated global newspapers, Ripley’s “Believe It Or Not” was published in more than 17 countries reaching hundreds of thousands of curiosity seekers all over the world. From his original “Believe It Or Not” cartoon in 1918, to the more than 100 Ripley’s attractions that are in operation today worldwide, Ripley’s legacy continues to push our imagination.
The November 1 evening at The Barnum Museum will include larger-than-life stories, mysterious tales and fantastical illuminations about Barnum and Ripley …and the people, places, and things that make the world inextricable and wondrous.…’believe it or not!’
Barnum and Ripley were both wildly popular, successful and odd and offbeat in their own different ways. O'Brien is a member of the prestigious International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Hall of Fame, as is Barnum. In fact, it was O'Brien who nominated P.T. Barnum back in 2012 to be inducted posthumously into the IAAPA Hall of Fame.
The Barnum Museum is located at 820 Main Street right next to the People's United Bank headquarters in downtown Bridgeport.
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