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Henry Gentry
Henry Gentry (b. 1872, d. 1940) was the owner and co-founder of the Gentry Brothers Circus. He got his start early in circus business, delivering advertising flyers for one circus at age 16. He worked for that circus for the next seven years, before returning to Bloomington to begin his own dog show with 15 stray dogs he trained himself. The first show opened in 1887 in the Bloomington Opera House.
Gentry sold the circus in 1916, but then became the manager of the Sells-Floto Circus. That circus did not survive the Great Depression.
He is a 1978 inductee of the Monroe County Hall of Fame on which his plaque reads "Circus Owner, 1885-1920; Originator, "Prof. Gentry's Dog Act,"1885; Originator, Part-owner, "Famous Gentry Brothers Shows,"Major Circus that wintered in Bloomington, 1888-1916; Manager, Sells-Floto Circus, 1916-1920; Bloomington real estate developer."
