Black History Fact of the Day 9

1821 is the year of the first known public appearance of Pablo Fanque who lived betwee 1796 and 1871. Fanque was Britain’s only black circus proprietor born in Norwich as Willam Darby. In 1821, he was still working as an acrobat in William Batty's circus performing acts such as horsemanship, rope walking, and rope vaulting. He founded his own circus in 1841 and toured extensively especially in the North of England. A poster for his performance in Rochdale  in  1843 later inspired John Lennon's lyric for the song For the Benefit of Mr Kite.

You can find out more about Fanque on the Norfolk Black History Month website http://norfolkblackhistorymonth.org.uk.

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