The Greatest Showman’s ‘To-Do’ List

Posted on December 21, 2018 Updated on January 17, 2019

By Ken Zurski

In addition to his celebrated showy attributes and unabashed self-promotion, P.T. Barnum kept a meticulous daily schedule.

Every day before leaving his lavish home in Fairfield, Connecticut, after a sip of hot chocolate and a roll, Barnum would make a “to-do” list right down to where and what he would eat that day and when he would take a stroll in the garden.

One day, Barnum wrote on his “to-do” list: “drop Charity [his wife] off at the dress maker.”

When Barnum returned home that day, his daughter asked, “Where is mother?”

Barnum thought for a moment then realized he had dropped his wife off as scheduled, but did not return to pick her up because he had not put it on the list.

He immediately called for a carriage to retrieve her.

She was “exceedingly angry,” Barnum explained.