Date: 1890
Clowns are not responsible beings, at least on the stage, or, according to the following anecdote, off it.  July 2, 1818 : " Usher, the Clown of the Coburg Theatre (opened on the 9th of May), in consequence of a wager, set off in a machine like a washing-tub, drawn by four geese, at half-past twelve o'clock, from below Southwark Bridge, and passed under four bridges, and arrived at half-past two at Cumberland Gardens.  A pole extended from the machine in which he sat, to which the geese were harnessed.