There is perhaps no sadder example of colonialism’s human toll than the life of Ota Benga. Grand narratives of nation and identity are often inscribed in little-told stories of individual degradation, ...

It's not unusual for a minor, obscure historical figure suddenly to bubble up into the zeitgeist. (Remember the year of two Truman Capote movies?) But the inspiration for what might be the most arcane ...

NMAF copy purchased with funds from the S. Dillon Ripley Endowment. Author's note -- Preface -- Part I. Caged. Gardens of wonder ; The Bronx Zoo monkey house ; Crimes of the Congo ; Hornaday's folly ; ...

On Sept. 8, a hundred years ago, the Bronx Zoo in New York unveiled a new exhibit that would attract legions of visitors -- and spark a furor. Inside a cage, in the zoo's Monkey House, was a man named ...

WILLIAMSTOWN — Years ago, Jonathan Payne was browsing in a Barnes & Noble when he came across Pamela Newkirk's "Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga." The book tells the story of a Congolese ...

In 1904 a man named Ota Benga was removed from the Congo in Central Africa and placed in the New York City Bronx Zoo, in a cage with primates. He spent his nights at the Monkey house. He was on ...