Ephraim Williams

Ephraim Williams was an American circus owner. Also known as Prof. Eph Williams, he was the first Black circus owner in the United States in the 1880s, and he was likely the only Black circus owner in the country until his death. He owned several circuses including the Ferguson and Williams Monster Show, Professor Williams' Consolidated American and German Railroad Shows, and an all-Black tent show named Silas Green from New Orleans, which became one of the longest-running tent shows in history. He called himself "The Black P.T. Barnum". In 1897, the Freeman newspaper described him as "the only Negro circus owner in America."