Frank C. Bostock Surrounded by Animals

Sepia-toned photograph of a man wearing a brimmed hat in the center surrounded 10 small, circular, super-imposed photographs: an elephant at the top plus nine big cats going around the rim of the button

In the late 1800s, lion tamer Frank C. Bostock was traveling with his team of lions when chaos ensued as one of his lions broke loose, roaming the streets of Birmingham, UK. Thankfully, Bostock’s cleverness prevented the public from discovering the truth about the lion's whereabouts. He pretended to have captured the loose lion from the sewers and instead used his second lion as 'proof'. Thankfully, the escaped lion in the sewers was captured the next day by Bostock and his traveling crew. 

Raised by a lion tamer, Frank C. Bostock's life was unique from the very beginning. He became well known for entertaining audiences of up to 16,000 at his traveling shows, which featured acts of lion taming and kangaroo boxing! He owned over 1,000 animals, including a pet puma which was a gift from U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Bostock invented the cage for circus acts and developed taming techniques for lions using chairs, which improved both safety standards and the overall entertainment value of the show. Bostock’s innovations transformed the day's practices of traveling circus shows.