Joseph Nock , circus director in Switzerland Born 1842 . 1860: The then 18-year-old Joseph Nock (3rd generation) founded the circus in Zurich in 1860, which existed until 2018. Thanks to old newspapers, appearances in Richterswil in 1890 and Davos in 1891 could be found out. At that time there were elephants and their own orchestra, and the circus was already equipped with generators.