Pablo Fanque's circus was popular in Victorian Britain for 30 years, a period that is regarded as the golden age of the circus.
29 Facts About Pablo Fanque
2.
When Fanque married in 1848, he said his late father's occupation was "butler" on his marriage certificate.
3.
Since 2003 biographer Turner has popularized the belief Pablo Fanque was born in 1796.
4.
The newspaper Era records on 14 May 1871 that Pablo Fanque's coffin bore the inscription; "AGED 75 YEARS".
5.
Fanque's gravestone, located at the base of his late wife Susannah Darby's grave in Woodhouse Cemetery, Leeds, reads; "Also the above named William Darby Pablo Fanque who died May 4th 1871 Aged 75 Years".
6.
Mr Pablo Fanque is an artiste of colour, and his steed.
7.
The steed in question was Beda, the black mare that Pablo Fanque had bought from Batty.
8.
The Illustrated London News reporting on perhaps an earlier performance during Pablo Fanque's 1847 run at London's Astley's Amphitheatre, fills in many biographical details regarding Pablo Fanque:.
9.
Mr William Darby, or, as he is professionally known, Mr Pablo Fanque, is a native of Norwich, and is about 35 years of age.
10.
Pablo Fanque was apprenticed to Mr Batty, the present proprietor of "Astley's Amphitheatre," and remained in his company several years.
11.
Pablo Fanque again joined Mr Batty; in 1841, he began business on his own account, with two horses, and has assembled a fine stud of horses and ponies at his establishment at Wigan, in Lancashire, in which county Mr Pablo is well known, and a great favourite.
12.
In Ireland, Pablo Fanque's circus performed at Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway, Ballinasloe, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Clonmel, among other places.
13.
In Cork, in 1850, Pablo Fanque built an amphitheatre on the site of the former Theatre Royal, where the current General Post Office stands.
14.
Pablo Fanque's circus performed at the Donnybrook Fair in 1850, five years before the centuries' old fair was discontinued.
15.
The "Benefit for Mr Kite" was one of many benefits that Pablo Fanque held for performers in his circus, for others in the profession, and for community organizations.
16.
Pablo Fanque was a member of the Order of Ancient Shepherds, a fraternal organization affiliated with the Freemasons.
17.
Pablo Fanque held a similar benefit in Bury the following year.
18.
Several of the members of the "Widows and Orphans Fund" presented to Mr Pablo Fanque a written testimonial, mounted in an elegant gilt frame.
19.
Mr Pablo Fanque on entering the room was received with due respect.
20.
Pablo Fanque appeared with Fanque's circus in Leeds, Wakefield, Oxford, and Glasgow.
21.
Pablo Fanque's eyebrows were shaved off, and his face, neck, and head dyed after the most admired Chinese complexion.
22.
Pablo Fanque married Susannah Marlaw, the daughter of a Birmingham buttonmaker.
23.
Reportedly, Pablo Fanque sought medical attention for his wife at the King Charles Hotel, but a surgeon pronounced her dead.
24.
In June 1848, widower Pablo Fanque married Elizabeth Corker, a circus rider and daughter of George Corker of Bradford.
25.
Ted, known as Ted Pablo Fanque, achieved acclaim as a boxer.
26.
The 1861 census records Pablo Fanque as living with a woman named Sarah, 25, who is described as his wife.
27.
Pablo Fanque died of bronchitis at the Britannia Inn at 22 Churchgate in Stockport, England on 4 May 1871.
28.
Pablo Fanque is buried next to his first wife Susannah Darby.
29.
On 8 October 2010, as part of Light Night ceremony, the Leeds University Union unveiled a blue plaque commemorating Pablo Fanque's final resting place.