John Sanger

British circus impresario

Also known as: Lord John

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Byname:: Lord John

Born:: 1816, Chew Magna, Somerset, Eng.

Died:: Aug. 22, 1889, Ipswich, Suffolk (aged 73)

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John Sanger (born 1816, Chew Magna, Somerset, Eng.—died Aug. 22, 1889, Ipswich, Suffolk) was an English circus impresario who was, with his brother George Sanger, the proprietor of one of the largest and most important English circuses in the 19th century. (See also circus: 19th-century developments.)

Sanger was an assistant in his father’s touring peep show, and he and his brother formed their own show in 1853. By 1871 they had leased Astley’s Amphitheatre and produced circus entertainment at Agricultural Hall in London as well as in a huge traveling tent circus. In the late 1870s Sanger and his brother ended their partnership and formed separate shows; John’s was called “John Sanger and Sons.” He died while touring.

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