Nevil Maskelyne (magician)
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1863
Nevil Maskelyne | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Nevil Maskelyne 1863 Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England |
| Died | 22 September 1924 (aged 61) Marylebone, London, England |
| Occupation | Stage magician |
| Spouse | Ada Mary Ardley (1863–1918) |
| Children | Jasper Maskelyne |
| Parents |
|
John Nevil Maskelyne, known professionally as Nevil Maskelyne (1863–1924), was a British magician and inventor.
Maskelyne was born in 1863 Cheltenham (bapt 22 July 1863) to stage magician John Nevil Maskelyne (1839-1917) and his wife Elizabeth née Taylor (1840-1911).
Following his father's death he assumed control of Maskelyne's Ltd.[1]
In wireless telegraphy, he was the manager of Anglo-American Telegraph Company, which controlled the Valdemar Poulsen patents.[2]
He was a public detractor of Guglielmo Marconi in the early days of radio (wireless). In 1903, he hacked into Marconi's demonstration of wireless telegraphy, and broadcast his own message, hoping to make Marconi's claims of "secure and private communication" appear foolish.[3][4][5]
Works
Maskelyne wrote several books on magic, including Our Magic: The Art in Magic, the Theory of Magic, the Practice of Magic (1911) ("the Practice of Magic" by David Devant) and On the Performance of Magic (a reprint of The Art in Magic section of Our Magic).
