Genre

Illusion

16 magicians who defined illusion, listed in order of birth.

🇮🇹 1750–1803 Giuseppe Pinetti Giovanni Giuseppe Pinetti, known in France as Chevalier Joseph Pinetti Half a century before Robert-Houdin, he raised conjuring to a courtly art — the most celebrated performer of the eighteenth century. Fairs and Courts Stage MagicIllusion
🇬🇧 1839–1917 John Nevil Maskelyne Master of the Egyptian Hall The showman who gave London a permanent home for magic and laid the foundation of British conjuring. Dawn of Modern Magic Stage MagicIllusion
🇺🇸 1839–1911 The Davenport Brothers Ira Erastus Davenport (1839–1911) and William Henry Davenport (1841–1877) The brothers who presented their work as the doing of spirits — exposed by Maskelyne, and an apprenticeship for Kellar. Dawn of Modern Magic Stage MagicIllusion
🇺🇸 1844–1896 Alexander Herrmann "Herrmann the Great" "Herrmann the Great" — for a generation, the very image of what a magician looked like. Dawn of Modern Magic Stage MagicIllusion
🇺🇸 1849–1922 Harry Kellar "Dean of American Magicians" The dean of American magicians, who made the passing-on of an act a tradition. Dawn of Modern Magic Stage MagicIllusion
🇯🇵 1853–1912 Shōkyokusai Tenichi I 松旭斎天一 — Father of Modern Japanese Magic The father of modern Japanese magic, who grafted Western conjuring onto Japan's own tradition. Dawn of Modern Magic Stage MagicIllusion
🇺🇸 1853–1932 Adelaide Herrmann born Adelaide Scarcez The Queen of Magic, who took over the show after her husband's death and kept it running for thirty years. The Golden Age Stage MagicIllusion
🇬🇧 1861–1918 Chung Ling Soo born William Ellsworth Robinson The golden age's most enigmatic performer, who lived his stage persona as a life. The Golden Age Stage MagicIllusion
🇺🇸 1869–1936 Howard Thurston The Last Great Touring Illusionist The summit of touring illusion, who perfected the full-evening show. The Golden Age Stage MagicIllusion
🇯🇵 1886–1944 Shōkyokusai Tenkatsu I 松旭斎天勝 — "Queen of Magic" The "Queen of Magic" — a Japanese star who led a company of over a hundred and toured Europe and America. The Golden Age Stage MagicIllusion
🇯🇵 1888–1980 Shōkyokusai Ten'yō 松旭斎天洋 — born Yamada Matsutarō The link between Tenichi and the postwar era — both Tenko Hikita and Haruo Shimada came out of his school. The Golden Age Stage MagicIllusion
🇺🇸 1892–1934 Black Herman born Benjamin Rucker The most prominent Black magician of his day, who built a touring circuit for Black audiences under segregation. The Golden Age Stage MagicIllusion
🇮🇳 1913–1971 P. C. Sorcar Protul Chandra Sorcar India's great illusionist, who toured more than seventy countries — and whose last engagement was in Asahikawa, Japan. The Television Era IllusionStage Magic
🇯🇵 1934–1979 Tenko Hikita I 引田天功 — "Japan's Escape King" Japan's Escape King, who held the whole country to its television sets. The Television Era EscapologyIllusion
🇨🇦 1947–2000 Doug Henning The Magician Who Brought Magic Back The revolutionary who threw away the tailcoat and brought stage magic back to life in the 1970s. The Television Era IllusionStage Magic
🇺🇸 1956– David Copperfield The Most Commercially Successful Magician A byword for modern magic, who astonished the world through television specials. The Television Era IllusionStage Magic