During what year was an elephant first brought to Europe for public display?

zbeckabee

The Academy of Natural Sciences will feature three separate exhibits on the elephant as animal, as fossil and as human companion. The collections include illustrations of elephants in their native habitats, as well as the first elephants brought to Europe during the 1500s and 1600s. http://www.citypaper.net/articles/060800/cov.convention.shtml Aug 02 06, 6:49 PM

Brainyblonde

The elephant given by Louis IX of France to Henry III of England, for his menagerie in the Tower of London in 1255 (see: Sandwich Kent). Drawn from life by the historian Matthew Paris for his Chronica Majora, it was the first elephant to be seen in England since Claudius' war elephant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_elephants_in_Europe Aug 02 06, 6:52 PM

zbeckabee

Q:What's the difference between an elephant and a plum? A:They're both purple, except for the elephant. Aug 02 06, 6:54 PM

peasypod

'The first historically recorded elephant in northern Europe was Abul-Abbas, an Asian elephant given to Emperor Charlemagne by the caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, in 798.' 'Abul-Abbas was exhibited on various occasions when the court was assembled, and was eventually housed in Augsburg in southern Bavaria.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul-Abbas Aug 02 06, 6:55 PM

Allergic2Life

Hannibal (247 BC ¨C 183 BC;[1][2][3][4] sometimes referred to as H¨£nnibal Barca) was a Carthaginian politician and statesman who is popularly credited as one of the finest military commanders in history. He lived in a period of tension in the Mediterranean, with both Carthage and Rome (then the Roman Republic) vying for control of the region. Considered by many as the greatest hero of Carthage, he is best known for his achievements in the Second Punic War, when he marched an army, which famously included war elephants, from Iberia over the Pyrenees and the Alps into northern Italy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal Although not for "public display" this certainly deserves a mention. Aug 02 06, 9:42 PM

Gnomon

The Romans displayed elephants which they had captured from an invading army for public spectacle in 275 BC. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/gladiators/elephantus.html Aug 03 06, 2:11 AM