Sol Stephan: A life in review

Sol Stephan was born in Dayton, Ohio between 1848 and 1849. Stephan was raised by his mother, Louise Shafer, and her family in Cincinnati after his father allegedly left to pursue riches during the Gold Rush.  Stephan was educated and brought up in Cincinnati. He spent his teenage summers on a family friend’s farm where he developed a great bond with all types of animals. To say Sol Stephan followed his natural calling would be an understatement. The following is a brief interpretation of Sol Stephan’s life resumes.

Sol with baby elephant, Faces and Places. 

Sol Stepan’s life-long love for animals started early on as he remembers his fondness for street cats and dogs. Stephan’s knowledge of animals grew as he worked with farm animals as a teenager. Just as he advanced from dogs to livestock, he graduated to fulfill the role as assistant elephant trainer to a traveling circus. Stephan then became known for his gentle approach with the animals. He thought the poking, prodding, and whipping of the elephants was cruel, brutal, and that there was a better way to train the animals. Eventually, the circus fired the lead elephant trainer and Stephan was given the position.

Sol sitting on Elephant at Cincinnati Zoo, Faces and Places. 

Shortly thereafter, Sol Stephan found himself as a bit of a cowboy. In his free time, he’d capture and amiably tame wild creatures such as deer, geese, and cranes. His expertise with elephants happened to coincide with the opening of the second zoo in the United States, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. The zoo officially opened in 1875, prior to the grand opening the zoo was able to purchase its first elephants from a failing circus. The elephant was accompanied by its handler, the legendary Sol Stephan. The zoo’s management asked him to stay for a few days to care for the elephant and he stayed for sixty-two years. Stephan started an elephant trainer and advanced to animal curator and eventually the zoo’s general superintendent.

Stephan would become an expert in handling all types of animals and become the backbone of the Cincinnati Zoo for more than six decades. Sol Stephan retired in 1937 at the age of 88 and passed away at 100-years-old in 1949. This wild man can teach us about our local history, but also about

 being kind to all the living things around us.

Sources:

1. Burba, Howard, “The Man Who Made the Zoo,” Dayton Daily News, January 3, 1932.
2. “Faces and Places – image di107127 & di107126,” Kenton County Public Library, accessed February 18, 2019, https://www.kentonlibrary.org/genphotos/viewimage.php?i=di107127, https://www.kentonlibrary.org/genphotos/viewimage.php?i=di107126.
3. Gale, M. Oliver. “The Cincinnati Zoo: 100 Years of Trial and Triumph,” Cincinnati Historical Society Bulletin 33, no. 2 (1975): 87-89; 115-117.
4. Kraft, Joy W. The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, (Chicago: Arcadia Publishing, 2010), 14; 35-39.