Henri Martin (lion tamer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
January 10, 1793
- Animal trainer
Henri Martin | |
|---|---|
_-_Portret_van_Pierre_Henri_Martin_(1793-1882),_dompteur_en_directeur_van_de_Rotterdamse_Diergaarde_-_10729-A-B_-_Museum_Rotterdam.jpg) Portrait by Raden Saleh | |
| Born | Pierre Henri Martin January 10, 1793 Marseille, France |
| Died | April 8, 1882 (aged 89) Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Lion taming |
Pierre Henri Martin (January 10, 1793 – April 8, 1882) was a French showman and lion tamer who became the first director of the Rotterdam Zoo.
Pierre Henri Martin was born in Marseille, France, in 1793.[1]
Career
During his time working with a circus, Martin honed his natural ability to control animals by mastering the art of horse training, teaching his horses the complete range of professional tricks. After establishing himself as a horse trainer, he advanced to taming wild animals.[2]
Martin established his menagerie in 1829 at the Porte Saint-Denis.[3] The menagerie Martin established at Rue Basse-St Denis contained two lions, a Bengal tiger, a hyena, and a llama.[4] The training of his royal tiger took eight months of work, and he taught the hyena the trick of retrieving his gloves.[2]
Between 1829 and 1831, the French animal trainer made appearances in Paris.[5] He starred in Les Lions de Mysore at the Cirque Olympique on April 21, 1831, marking the first time wild animals were presented at a circus venue.[3]
He visited London and the other provinces of England from 1831 to 1832.[1] He performed at the Drury Lane theatre in 1831.[6]
Before long, he began touring Holland with his show The Lions of Mysore.[7]
Around 1836, he met the Indonesian painter Raden Saleh in The Hague. Saleh painted Martin's portrait, a gesture that secured him permission to sketch Martin's circus animals.[8]
Martin retired in 1840.[1]
Martin's zoological studies earned him a reputation that extended to professional naturalists.[6] He became the first director of the Rotterdam Zoo, serving from 1857 to 1866.[9]
