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Quotation by Phineas Barnum
More Quotes From
Phineas Barnum (1)Additional Sources
attributed
There's a sucker born every minute.
Phineas Barnum (1810–1891), U.S. showman. Attributed.
Barnum doubted ever having uttered these words, though he conceded he may have said, "The people like to be humbugged." See the appendix to A.H. Saxon's biography, P.T. Barnum: The Legend and the Man (1989), where it is claimed that the phrase "There's a sucker born every minute, but none of them ever die" originated with a notorious con-man known as "Paper Collar Joe," (real name, Joseph Bessimer) and was later falsely ascribed to Barnum by show-biz rival Adam Forepaugh in a newspaper interview. Barnum never took pains to deny it, and even thanked Forepaugh for the free publicity he had given him.
Barnum doubted ever having uttered these words, though he conceded he may have said, "The people like to be humbugged." See the appendix to A.H. Saxon's biography, P.T. Barnum: The Legend and the Man (1989), where it is claimed that the phrase "There's a sucker born every minute, but none of them ever die" originated with a notorious con-man known as "Paper Collar Joe," (real name, Joseph Bessimer) and was later falsely ascribed to Barnum by show-biz rival Adam Forepaugh in a newspaper interview. Barnum never took pains to deny it, and even thanked Forepaugh for the free publicity he had given him.
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The Columbia World of Quotations © 1996, Columbia University Press.
Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted by written agreement, the following are prohibited: copying substantial portions or the entirety of the work in machine readable form, making multiple printouts thereof, and other uses of the work inconsistent with U.S. and applicable foreign copyright and related laws.
Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted by written agreement, the following are prohibited: copying substantial portions or the entirety of the work in machine readable form, making multiple printouts thereof, and other uses of the work inconsistent with U.S. and applicable foreign copyright and related laws.
