Wilhelm Philadelphia

From the list of elephant persons Family: Philadelphia

☨ Wilhelm Philadelphia
Profession	circus elephant trainer
Personal details
Born	1854 in Germany

Dead	1921-04-28 in Germany

Residence
Country	Germany

Locations
Title	chief elephant trainer 1921-1921
Location	at Circus Sarrasani in Germany

Title	elephant trainer 1903-1904
Location	at Hagenbeck Animal Show at St. Louis Worlds Fair in United States

Title	chief elephant trainer-1921
Location	at Circus Carl Hagenbeck-Stellingen in Germany

Title	elephant head-keeper
Location	at Carl Hagenbecks Tierpark (Stellingen) in Germany

Relevant literature

Biography details

Wilhelm "William" Philadelphia , circus elephant trainer in Germany

Philadelphia was born * 1854 in Germany dead 1921-04-28 , in Germany , son of animal trainer Alexander Philadelphia and wife Josepha Philadelphia .

Affiliation with 5 elephants

1: Böse Rosa (trainer from 1921 to 1921) 2: Mustard II (trainer from 1898 to 1892) 3: Salt (trainer from 1898 to 1902) 4: Sauce (trainer from 1898 to 1902) 5: Vinager (trainer from 1898 to 1902)

Casualties

1 casualties

1921-04-28: elephant trainer Wilhelm Philadelphia fatal attack by Böse Rosa. crushed the trainer Wilhelm Philadelphia to death on the wall of her box Wilhelm "William" Philadelphia † Wilhelm Philadelphia Died 1921-04-28

1892: Two of Wilhelm Hagenbeck's early key collaborators were the aforementioned Julius Seeth, and Wilhelm Philadelphia (1854-1921), Carl Krone Jr.'s uncle.

While in Hamburg, Carl Krone Jr. entered in contact with them, and learned about Hagenbeck’s last sensational creation: The riding lion. Philadelpia and Seeth had trained a young lion to ride a horse around the ring. This attraction, documented for the first time in 1889 when it appeared at Paris' Hippodrome de l'Alma, was probably the principal reason for one of circus history's major technical innovations: the circular cage made of removable panels, developed by the Hagenbecks. The riding lion became all the rage in the industry: In a few years, Wilhelm Hagenbeck was able to deliver twelve different versions of the act in Europe, U.S.A. and Australia.

1921-04-28: Rosa, the cow elephant on Circus Sarrasani, crushed the trainer Wilhelm Philadelphia to death on the wall of her box at the Sarrasani Circus in Berlin, 1921.

Siblings

Siblings through the father Alexander Philadelphia (1811 -- ):

Friederike Philadelphia

Wilhelm Philadelphias ancestral Ahnentafel:
P	I	II	III
Wilhelm Philadelphia Born: 1854	Father: Friedrich Philadelphia Born: 1811	Paternal Grandfather: Samuel Philadelphia Born:	Paternal Great-grandfather: Jacob Meyer Meyer
		Paternal Grandfather: Samuel Philadelphia Born:	Paternal Great-grandmother:
		Paternal Grandmother: Born:	Paternal Great-grandfather::
		Paternal Grandmother: Born:	Paternal Great-grandmother:
	Mother: Josepha Philadelphia Born:	Maternal Grandfather: Born:	Maternal Great-grandfather:
		Maternal Grandfather: Born:	Maternal Great-grandmother:
		Maternal Grandmother: Born:	Maternal Great-grandfather:
		Maternal Grandmother: Born:	Maternal Great-grandmother:

Wilhelm Philadelphia is mentioned on 3 other person pagesHugo Schmitt, Olof Rhodin, Reuben Castang,

Wilhelm Philadelphia is mentioned on 5 location pagesCarl Hagenbecks Tierpark (Stellingen), Circus Sarrasani, Cuneos menageri, Firma Carl Hagenbeck, Hagenbeck Animal Show at St. Louis Worlds Fair,

Wilhelm Philadelphia is mentioned on 6 elephant record pagesBöse Rosa, Mustard II , Salt, Sauce, Topsy, Vinager,

Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2025). elephant trainer Wilhelm "William" Philadelphia in Germany. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 26 April 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/person.php?id=138. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:

Page 59,
Jumbo auf dem Drahtseil - Elefanten dressuren von gestern und heute by Gerhard Zapf
http://www.circopedia.org/Circus_Krone

Selected publications

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