History of juggling
Encyclopedia
This page lists many dates in which juggling
has been recorded throughout history from 1994 BC to 1947 AD.
1994-1781 BC – Egypt
The earliest known record of toss juggling
, from the 15th Beni Hassan tomb of an unknown prince, depicting female dancers and acrobats throwing balls.
770-476 BC – China
Various jugglers are mentioned in histories, usually warrior
s who would display their skill to their enemies, sometimes managing to end a conflict before they began. Some jugglers are named, including:
400-200 BC – Greece
Juggling recorded in Greek
writings. There is also terra cotta statue of a man with balls balanced on different parts of his body, from the time of Ptolomaer of ancient Thebes.
50-400 AD – Roman Empire
Juggling recorded in Rome
. Tagatus Ursus, a Roman, claimed on his grave inscription to have been the first to juggle with glass
balls, and Sidonius Apollinaris, an officer in a Roman legion
, entertained his troops by performing juggling tricks with balls.
400-600 AD – Ireland
Irish hero Cuchulainn juggles nine apples. A few centuries later Tulchinne, the royal buffoon of king Conaire, is described as juggling nine swords, nine silver shields, and nine balls of gold.
500-1500 AD – Europe
Juggling was an acceptable diversion until the decline of the Roman Empire, after which it fell into disgrace. Throughout the Middle Ages
most histories were written by religious clerics who frowned upon the type of performers who juggled, called 'Gleemen', accusing them of base morals or even practicing witchcraft
. Jugglers in this era would only perform in market places, streets, fairs or drinking houses. They would perform short, humorous and bawdy acts and pass a hat or bag among the audience for tips. Some king’s and noblemen’s bards, fools, or jesters would have been to juggle or perform acrobatics, though their main skills would have been oral (poetry
, music
, comedy
and story telling).
1066 – England
Taillefer
, the warrior-bard of William of Normandy, juggles before the enemy lines and makes the first kill at the Battle of Hastings
.
1528 – India
The Emperor of Hindustan
described jugglers with wooden rings.
1528 – America
Christoph Weiditz draws Native Mexicans toss juggling
and foot juggling/antipodism
, which is also often found in Aztec
art.
1680 – Germany
The first recorded juggling workshop, the Town Council of Nuremberg
hired a "ball-master" who juggled and taught others juggling and other skills.
18th century – France
The earliest known representation of juggling as a single arc of props over widely separated hands, from an 18th century French wood cut. Before this time, all images of jugglers show the hands close together with their props in columns above each hand.
1768 – England
Philip Astley
opens the first modern circus
. A few years later he employs jugglers to perform acts along with the horse and clown
acts. From then until the modern day, jugglers have found work and have commonly been associated with circuses.
1774 – Pacific Islands
First record of hiko in Tonga
, young girls throwing limes, gourds, or tui tui nuts in the shower pattern, by George Forster, aboard Captain Cook's second Pacific voyage.
1793 – North America
John Bill Ricketts
presents America's first circus. In the opening show, watched by George Washington
, Ricketts juggled on horseback.
1795 – China
Foot juggling/antipodism recorded at the Court of the Emperor of China.
1821 – England
William Hazlitt
writes the essay "The Indian Juggler" describing a four ball juggling routine in detail, probably performed by Ramo Samee, considered to be the first modern professional juggler. In his day Ramo Samee was a well-known British
celebrity.
Mid-Late19th century – Europe and North America
Variety
and music hall
theatres become more popular, and jugglers are in demand to fill time between music acts, performing in front of the curtain while sets are changed.
1883 – North America
In Boston
a new style of variety show is born. The format is a continuous show, the same 8-10 acts repeated over and over, the audience coming and going when they had seen all the acts. This was later known as Vaudeville
.
1885 – England
Paul Cinquevalli
(1859 – 1918) made his debut at a circus in Covent Garden
, London
. Cinquevalli was the first juggling super-star, and was referred to by the British press as the world’s greatest juggler.
Late 19th century – Early 20th century – North America
In the USA the popularity of variety shows and vaudeville shows created great demand for professional jugglers. To distinguish them from other entertainers, jugglers were constantly developing new tricks, props, styles and characters, many of which survive to this day.
Here are some juggling "firsts" from America, based on anecdotal evidence.
1896 – Siberia
Enrico Rastelli
is born. Rastelli (1896–1931) is considered to be one of the greatest jugglers who ever lived. He is recorded as juggling 10 balls (though never 9), 8 sticks (small clubs) and 8 plates. He was also one of the first jugglers to use footballs (soccer balls) and other large rubber balls.
1912 – North America
Glow-props are invented. Adolf Behrend, the German Gentleman juggler Salerno builds a set of clubs with electric lights inside which changed colors as he juggles them.
1930-1950 – Europe and North America
Variety and Vaudeville shows start to decline in popularity due to competition from motion picture theatres, radio
and television
.
1947 – North America
The International Jugglers' Association
is formed.
Juggling
Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...
has been recorded throughout history from 1994 BC to 1947 AD.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
The earliest known record of toss juggling
Toss juggling
Toss juggling is the form of juggling which is most recognisable as 'juggling'. Toss juggling is at once: a performing art, a sport, a form of exercise and meditation, a recreational pursuit and often is a hobby....
, from the 15th Beni Hassan tomb of an unknown prince, depicting female dancers and acrobats throwing balls.
770-476 BC – China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Various jugglers are mentioned in histories, usually warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s who would display their skill to their enemies, sometimes managing to end a conflict before they began. Some jugglers are named, including:
- Lan Zi, from the state of Song, credited with juggling seven swordSwordA sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
s. - Yi Liao of Shinan juggled balls to settle the conflict between two houses was eliminated.
- Xiong Yiliao, in a battle between the states of Chu and Song, juggled nine balls at the same time.
400-200 BC – Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
Juggling recorded in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
writings. There is also terra cotta statue of a man with balls balanced on different parts of his body, from the time of Ptolomaer of ancient Thebes.
50-400 AD – Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
Juggling recorded in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Tagatus Ursus, a Roman, claimed on his grave inscription to have been the first to juggle with glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
balls, and Sidonius Apollinaris, an officer in a Roman legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
, entertained his troops by performing juggling tricks with balls.
400-600 AD – Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Irish hero Cuchulainn juggles nine apples. A few centuries later Tulchinne, the royal buffoon of king Conaire, is described as juggling nine swords, nine silver shields, and nine balls of gold.
500-1500 AD – Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
Juggling was an acceptable diversion until the decline of the Roman Empire, after which it fell into disgrace. Throughout the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
most histories were written by religious clerics who frowned upon the type of performers who juggled, called 'Gleemen', accusing them of base morals or even practicing witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. Jugglers in this era would only perform in market places, streets, fairs or drinking houses. They would perform short, humorous and bawdy acts and pass a hat or bag among the audience for tips. Some king’s and noblemen’s bards, fools, or jesters would have been to juggle or perform acrobatics, though their main skills would have been oral (poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
and story telling).
1066 – England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Taillefer
Taillefer
Taillefer was the surname of a Norman ioglere whose exact name and place of birth are unknown . He travelled to England during the Norman conquest of England of 1066, in the train of William the Conqueror...
, the warrior-bard of William of Normandy, juggles before the enemy lines and makes the first kill at the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
.
1528 – India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
The Emperor of Hindustan
Hindustan
Hindustan or Indostan, literal translation "Land of River Sindhu ", is one of the popular names of South Asia. It can also mean "the land of the Hindus"...
described jugglers with wooden rings.
1528 – America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
Christoph Weiditz draws Native Mexicans toss juggling
Toss juggling
Toss juggling is the form of juggling which is most recognisable as 'juggling'. Toss juggling is at once: a performing art, a sport, a form of exercise and meditation, a recreational pursuit and often is a hobby....
and foot juggling/antipodism
Equilibristics
Equilibristics is a blanket term for a number of circus skills which involve balancing or maintaining equilibrium. The term applies equally to acts in which the performer balances on a prop, and acts in which the performer balances or spins a prop....
, which is also often found in Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
art.
1680 – Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
The first recorded juggling workshop, the Town Council of Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
hired a "ball-master" who juggled and taught others juggling and other skills.
18th century – France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
The earliest known representation of juggling as a single arc of props over widely separated hands, from an 18th century French wood cut. Before this time, all images of jugglers show the hands close together with their props in columns above each hand.
1768 – England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Philip Astley
Philip Astley
Philip Astley was an English equestrian, circus owner, and inventor, regarded as being the "father of the modern circus"...
opens the first modern circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
. A few years later he employs jugglers to perform acts along with the horse and clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
acts. From then until the modern day, jugglers have found work and have commonly been associated with circuses.
1774 – Pacific Islands
First record of hiko in Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, young girls throwing limes, gourds, or tui tui nuts in the shower pattern, by George Forster, aboard Captain Cook's second Pacific voyage.
1793 – North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
John Bill Ricketts
John Bill Ricketts
John Bill Ricketts , an Englishman who brought the first modern circus to the United States, began his theatrical career with Hughes Royal Circus in London in the 1780s, and came over from England in 1792 to establish his first circus in Philadelphia.He built a circus building in Philadelphia in...
presents America's first circus. In the opening show, watched by George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, Ricketts juggled on horseback.
1795 – China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Foot juggling/antipodism recorded at the Court of the Emperor of China.
1821 – England
William Hazlitt
William Hazlitt
William Hazlitt was an English writer, remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism, and as a grammarian and philosopher. He is now considered one of the great critics and essayists of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. Yet his work is...
writes the essay "The Indian Juggler" describing a four ball juggling routine in detail, probably performed by Ramo Samee, considered to be the first modern professional juggler. In his day Ramo Samee was a well-known British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
celebrity.
Mid-Late19th century – Europe and North America
Variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
and music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
theatres become more popular, and jugglers are in demand to fill time between music acts, performing in front of the curtain while sets are changed.
- Performers start specializing in juggling, separating it from other kinds of performance such as sword swallowing and magicMagic (illusion)Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
. - The Gentleman Juggler style is established by German jugglers such as Salerno and Kara.
- RubberRubberNatural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
processing is developed and jugglers start using rubber balls. Previously juggling balls were made from balls of twine, stuffed leather bags, wooden spheres or various metals. Solid rubber balls meant that bounce juggling was possible. Inflated rubber balls lead to ball spinning.
1883 – North America
In Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
a new style of variety show is born. The format is a continuous show, the same 8-10 acts repeated over and over, the audience coming and going when they had seen all the acts. This was later known as Vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
.
1885 – England
Paul Cinquevalli
Paul Cinquevalli
Paul Cinquevalli was a famous juggler from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. His birth name is given by The Cambridge Guide to Theatre as Paul Kestner, but other sources give it as Paul Braun-Lehmann and Emile Otto Lehmann-Braun.-Early life:Cinquevalli was born in Lissa in what is...
(1859 – 1918) made his debut at a circus in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Cinquevalli was the first juggling super-star, and was referred to by the British press as the world’s greatest juggler.
Late 19th century – Early 20th century – North America
In the USA the popularity of variety shows and vaudeville shows created great demand for professional jugglers. To distinguish them from other entertainers, jugglers were constantly developing new tricks, props, styles and characters, many of which survive to this day.
Here are some juggling "firsts" from America, based on anecdotal evidence.
- Jim Harrigan was the first tramp juggler, using cigar boxes and balls. He was also one of the first talking comedy jugglers, putting jokes into his routine.
- DeWitt Cook was the first to perform with "juggling clubJuggling clubJuggling clubs, or simply clubs are a prop used by jugglers, as are other props such as balls or rings. A typical club is in the range of long, weighs between , is slim at the "handle" end, and has its center of balance nearer the wider "body" end...
s". Previously jugglers had only used sticks, torches or knives. Instead Cook juggled 3 Indian Clubs, normally used for arm-swinging exercises. Indian Clubs were made from wood, were very heavy and were shaped like a modern bowling pin. This design is still recognizable in today’s specially manufactured, light, plastic juggling clubs. - Charles Hoey was the first to juggle 4 clubs, though he could not stop juggling without dropping. When performing on stage the curtain had to be closed while he was still juggling so the audience wouldn’t see him drop.
- Ben Mowatt was the first to juggle 5 clubs.
- Pat McBann was the first to juggle six clubs. He did 4 in one hand and 2 in the other, but died before he had it ready to perform in public.
- John Breen juggled 7 clubs for 35 right-handed throws. Breen also managed other very technical tricks such as a 5 club shower, as well as 5 club cascade with a head balance. He performed 6 clubs on stage. He died aged only 21 in 1912.
- The first record of two-person club passing is in 1885 by the juggling team “The Murdock Bros”. They passed four clubs side-by-side them while standing on pedestals.
- The Devine Bros perform 6 club passing, facing each other, for the first time.
- The Three Mowatts were the first three-person club passing act, first performing in 1895. John Whitfield left the Mowatts to set up his own troupe called the Juggling Johnsons and created the first 4 and 5 person juggling.
- Jack Greene and Joe Piche were the first to pass 8 clubs.
1896 – Siberia
Enrico Rastelli
Enrico Rastelli
Enrico Rastelli was an Italian juggler, acrobat and performer.-Biography:...
is born. Rastelli (1896–1931) is considered to be one of the greatest jugglers who ever lived. He is recorded as juggling 10 balls (though never 9), 8 sticks (small clubs) and 8 plates. He was also one of the first jugglers to use footballs (soccer balls) and other large rubber balls.
1912 – North America
Glow-props are invented. Adolf Behrend, the German Gentleman juggler Salerno builds a set of clubs with electric lights inside which changed colors as he juggles them.
1930-1950 – Europe and North America
Variety and Vaudeville shows start to decline in popularity due to competition from motion picture theatres, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
1947 – North America
The International Jugglers' Association
International Jugglers' Association
The International Jugglers' Association or IJA is the oldest and largest organization of jugglers. It is open to members worldwide.-Benefits of Membership:* Special from major prop vendors worldwide.* Member prices in the IJA’s ....
is formed.