Phineas Taylor Barnum: A Super Supervisor

Phineas T. Barnum, better known as P.T. Barnum, was born on July 5, 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut, and died on April 7, 1891 in his sleep at his home at Bridgeport, CT (Benton, n.d., chap.1 para.3). P.T. Barnum’s father, Philo Barnum, died in 1825, while Phineas was still only 15 (Benton, n.d., chap.2 para.3). There was nothing left after the creditors seized everything, for his mother, and his four brothers (Benton, n.d., chap.2 para.3). P.T. Barnum was very close to his grandmother. His grandmother had passed away in the same year as his father did (Benton, n.d., chap.2 para.1). The entire trauma going on around the same time probably had something to do with the shaping of P.T. Barnum’s personality. Phineas was so deeply wounded by his grandmother’s death that Benton says “Barnum was so deeply impressed by the death-bed scene that through his whole life neither the recollection of it, nor of the dying woman’s words, ever left him” (Benton, n.d., chap.2 para.1). Phineas was the oldest of the five children. His father was not very successful in any of his occupations (Benton, n.d., chap.1 para.2).

From not having a lot of money in the family, Phineas learned how

to save money, as he started to hoard all his pennies before the age of five (Benton, n.d., chap.1 para.5). At six years old, he was able to exchange his copper bits for a whole silver dollar, the possession of which made him feel richer than he ever felt afterward in all his life (Benton, n.d., chap.1 para.5). Phineas learned from past experiences that saving his money and using it wisely in a business-like manner would bring him more money. By the time Phineas was 10 years of age; his grandfather told everyone that he was the richest boy in town (Benton, n.d., chap.1 para.6). By 12, he was selling lottery tickets. All of his actions at an early age showed his flair as a good salesman. It seems likely, through both genetic inheritance and learned experiences, that P.T. Barnum had some personality traits that helped him to become very successful.

was fondly called him “The Kris Kringle of America”, because his was so giving to

improvements and became America’s second millionaire. Barnum’s way of handling

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