25 Top Magicians Throughout History

Commonly referred to as Taiwan’s most famous magician, many refer to him as Asia’s David Copperfield due to his popularity around the continent.

A popular magician and escapologist, Gopinah started the first magic academy of Asia in Kerala, India.

Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon were a husband and wife team of illusionists who labeled their work “physical grand illusion.” They pioneered several tricks and performed at presidential galas.

Self titled “Smoothini the Ghetto Houdini,” Tomas is a former US Marine from the Dominican Republic that wowed audiences on America’s Got Talent.

Mark is widely credited as being the first major TV magician. He established illusion-shows as a television format.

A famous French magician, Jean is widely considered to be the father of modern conjuring.

The Swedish magician starting winning magic championships at the age of 16 and was even named the “illusionist of the decade.” This clearly placed him in with the ranks of David Copperfield and Siegfried and Roy, who have also earned this award. Labero’s stage name is derived from his full name – Lars Bengt Roland Johansson.

Going by the stage name of Ricky Jay, Richard has acted in numerous films and was called, “perhaps the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive,” by the New Yorker.

Born in Germany, the duo eventually made their way to the US where they became famous for their work with lions. Unfortunately, in 2003, Roy was bitten by a lion during a show. After that they slowly decreased the number of their performances.

Better known as “The Amazing Johnathan,” John is known for the gore in his comedy/magic shows (eating his hanging eyeball, skewering his tongue, etc).

Known as “The Professor,” Dai was a legend when it came to sleight of hand techniques and card tricks.

After running away to join the circus, Howard managed to eventually become one of the most famous magicians of his time. His traveling magic show was so big that it needed eight train cars to transport it from place to place!

The popular British mentalist and illusionist is well known for rejecting the idea that he possesses any supernatural powers. He makes clear that all of his tricks are little more than psychological manipulation, and like several other magicians on this list, he makes it a point to expose mediums and psychics.

Actor, magician, screenwriter, director…Harry is known for doing it all. Between Saturday Night Live and his own shows, he made a name for himself in the world of magic.

Harry followed in the footsteps of his famous magician father and managed to carve out quite a name for himself. It is estimated that he pulled over 80,000 rabbits from his sleeves and hats.

A popular American stage magician, Lance performed over 15,000 shows for more than 5 million people in venues around Las Vegas.

Billed as The Great Blackstone, Harry was a popular performer among troops during World War II.

The Canadian magician, illusionist, and politician recently received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Popular for his show Mindfreak, Criss has been on prime-time TV for more hours than any other magician in the world.

Steven Frayne aka Dynamo is a British magician known for his show “Dynamo: Magician Impossible.”

Making up one half of the comedy magic duo Penn & Teller, the duo don’t just perform, but they are also known for being outspoken proponents of scientific skepticism. The duo are also well known for exposing pseudo science, mysticism, psychics, etc.

The other half of the comedy duo Penn & Teller, he officially dropped his first and middle names (Raymond James) and goes only by Teller.

A well known illusionist and magician, David is known for his high profile endurance acts. He has also broken several world records.

Named by Forbes as the “most commercially successful magician” of all time, he has earned 21 Emmy Awards, 11 Guinness World Records, a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, a knighthood by the French government, and he has been named a Living Legend by US Congress.

Often considered to be the greatest magician of all time, Houdini was noted for his sensational escape acts. He was even known to challenge various police forces around the world to try restraining him. (He broke out of their best restraints.)