Magic astounds young and old alike. It’s a wondrous thing, whether entertaining us in books, television, movies or on stage conducted by a skilled performer. Magic creates a delightful sense of awe and mystery. Arguably magic today has a definite mascot, a personification who embodies the mystical musings of spell casting, magic wands and alchemy.
Years ago, when you thought magic you may have thought of Harry Houdini or David Cooperfield. Maybe Blackstone or Doug Henning might have come to mind. Today there’s David Blaine and Criss Angel. More fanciful figures like Marvel Comics Dr. Strange, DC Comics Dr. Fate, Mandrake The Magician or Lord Of The Rings wizard Gandalf are celebrated fictional magic makers. Of course Merlin the wizard from King Arthur’s Camelot mythology was probably most identified with magical mayhem, that is before a boy named Harry Potter.
British author J.K. Rowling’s complex tale of a young magic proficient boy and his pals Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger have transformed publishing, films and pop culture into believing any boy or girl can cast a proper spell – as long as they use a trusty magic wand. Harry Potter has become now a true global phenomenon in every sense of the word, yet before the bespectacled Mr. Potter there was another. His name was Richard Potter. Mr. Potter was an American magician and most important of all he was quite real.
Richard Potter was born in Massachusetts in 1783. Reportedly he was the son of a slave mother or serving woman and her owner or employer. Not only do historians consider Potter as the first African-American magician, but some also say he may be the first American born to study the arcane arts of magic and prestidigitation.
Potter was incredibly multi-talented. Beyond magic and on stage illusions, he was also well known for his vocal skills and as an accomplished ventriloquist, and was especially good at mimicking bird calls and other sounds. Potter’s magical feats so caught the attention of the public, he showed off his skills at the Columbia Museum in Boston. He astounded onlookers by walking on flames and dancing on eggs without making an omelet out of them. He’s said to be the first to perform the legendary Hindu rope trick. Famed magician Harry Houdini was so intrigued with Potter’s life and exploits he wrote about them in his own magazine devoted to magic.
So the next time you settle down to read a Harry Potter book or watch a Harry Potter film, remember the magician Richard Potter. That English boy so skillful at weaving up magical spells against Lord Voldemort is far more famous than the American Potter, but an American Wizard named Potter came first.
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