Kathy Maher
Kathleen Maher is the Executive Director of the Barnum Museum and has over 30 years of experience in museum work. She is a noted authority on Phineas Taylor Barnum and has developed numerous award-winning exhibitions and programs exploring 19th-century social and historical themes. Maher is known for her disaster recovery efforts, having saved the Barnum Museum from an EF1 tornado and both Hurricane Irene and Super Storm Sandy. Under her leadership, the Barnum Museum is focusing on new methods of audience engagement and is becoming a global model for disaster recovery and resilience. Maher has made appearances as a guest historian on various news and media outlets, including the History Channel, A&E, MSG, BBC, AHC, Travel Channel, PBS, NECN, CPTV, and NPR. She has also given a TEDx talk and has been featured in the NY Times, Hartford Courant, and Associated Press. Maher holds gubernatorial appointments to various cultural and historical organizations in Connecticut and was awarded the Tourism Leader of the Year in 2019.
Appears in 40 Episodes
The Old American is Bound to Do Wonders Yet
This episode of Becoming Barnum discusses letters at the end of November 1845; P. T. Barnum's wide-ranging ambitions seem tamped down a bit, at least insofar as his co...
Last Letters from France
This episode of Becoming Barnum, Barnum sits down to write letters to various family members, plus one to his museum manager who was “like family” to Barnum, and anot...
Thank you & Happy Holidays!
Thank you for listening to 'Becoming Barnum: The Journey to Fame and Fortune.' We will be taking a break for the holidays but will return in the new year with more sto...
Bills and Boardmen
In this episode of Becoming Barnum, P. T. Barnum works to promote Gen. Tom Thumb's performances in London using various methods of advertising, including handbills and...
I Never Wish to be a Millionaire
In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, P.T. Barnum addresses that he is aware that his wife Charity is pregnant. This information is revealed in letters writt...
A New Chapter for a New Year
In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, A “new chapter” is about to begin in P. T. Barnum’s business life as we learn from a group of letters he composed—appro...
Going It Like a Rush
In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, we dive into P.T. Barnum's 1846 letters to his uncle Alanson Taylor. He shares his business advice for their partnershi...
Do the Best You Can for Yourself
In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, we bring you P.T. Barnum's own words as he writes to his manager Fordyce Hitchcock, laying out his plans for the Americ...
A Good Education is Better than Riches
In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, we explore 2 letters from P.T. Barnum to daughter Caroline & wife Charity. He emphasizes the importance of education, p...
Mademoiselle Venus
P.T. Barnum purchased an "Anatomical Venus" figure in Paris for his American Museum in New York. This was a lifelike wax figure, with internal organs arranged in a cav...
A Great Country for Wealth and Grandeur
In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, join us as we follow Barnum as he tries to navigate a problem at the theater and make sure everything is running smooth...
Poetical Puffing
BECOMING BARNUM: The Journey to Fame and FortunePoetical Puffing - Episode 31In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, Barnum was worried about his employees at ...
My Character and Peculiarities So Correctly Portrayed
Learn more about PT Barnum’s Letter Copy Book here: https://tinyurl.com/BarnumArchivehttps://tinyurl.com/FAMILY-EXHIBITORhttps://tinyurl.com/Barnumletterhttps://tinyur...
Imitators & Followers will get Poor Gleanings
BECOMING BARNUM: The Journey to Fame and FortuneImitators & Followers will get Poor Gleanings - Episode 33In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, P.T. Barnum w...
Instructive Entertainments: Early 19th Century Panoramas
BECOMING BARNUM: The Journey to Fame and FortuneInstructive Entertainments: Early 19th Century Panoramas - Episode 34In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, P....
I Entrust You with a Small Secret
BECOMING BARNUM: The Journey to Fame and FortuneI Entrust You with a Small Secret - Episode 35In this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, P.T. Barnum makes a secr...
Igniting Interest: Barnum’s Views on the Loco-Foco Party
BECOMING BARNUM: The Journey to Fame and FortuneIgniting Interest: Barnum’s Views on the Loco-Foco Party Learn more about PT Barnum’s Letter Copy Book here: https://a...
Wonderful Discoveries
Learn more about PT Barnum’s Letter Copy Book here: https://archive.org/details/historylocofoco02byrdgoog/page/n6/mode/2uphttps://tinyurl.com/BarnumArchivehttps://tiny...
The Journey to Fame and Fortune
BECOMING BARNUM: The Journey to Fame and FortuneThe Journey to Fame and FortuneLearn more about PT Barnum’s Letter Copy Book here: https://archive.org/details/historyl...
“Why I am a Universalist”
Welcome to this bonus episode of "Becoming Barnum: The Journey to Fame and Fortune." In this episode, we delve into the lesser-known aspects of P.T. Barnum's life, par...