Ludger Sylbaris

Ludger Sylbaris (born circa 1875 - died circa 1929), born either August Cyparis or Louis-Auguste Cyparis, was an Afro-Caribbean man who travelled with the Barnum & Bailey circus. He had become something of an early 20th century celebrity for being the (reported) sole survivor of the devastating volcanic eruption of Mt. Pelée on the French-Caribbean island of Martinique on the 8 May 1902. This same eruption completely flattened an entire city, the "Paris of the West Indies", St. Pierre, and killed an estimated 30-40,000 people.