David Devant

English stage magician
the band

David Devant (22 February 1868 – 13 October 1941) was an English magician, shadowgraphist and film exhibitor. He was born David Wighton in Holloway, London. He is regarded by magicians as a consummate exponent of suave and witty presentation of stage illusion. According to magic historian Jim Steinmeyer, Devant was “England’s greatest magician—arguably the greatest magician of the 20th Century”.

Devant is remembered as the consummate exponent of entertaining magical theatre. He was the first President of both The British Magical Society and The Magic Circle. The Magic Circle celebrates Devant by using his name for their function room in the Headquarters in London. His words about his own priorities in magic have often been quoted to budding young magicians when confronted by a boastful magician who claimed he knew hundreds of tricks, Devant gently replied that he knew only a few dozen, but he was able to perform them very well. One of his trade mark phrases was that his magic was done "All by kindness". Devant was the author of several manuals on conjuring, including Our Magic: The Art in Magic, the Theory of Magic, the Practice of Magic with Nevil Maskelyne. He influenced many notable magicians, including Nate Leipzig, who said of Devant, "I basked in the performance of David Devant, one of the finest entertainers in magic I ever hope to see." He mentored Scottish American magician Max Holden. He lived in Hampstead, London, where a blue plaque commemorating his residence was affixed to the house, Ornan Court on Ornan Road at the junction with Haverstock Hill, in 2005. This building was previously used as nurses accommodation for the nearby Royal Free Hospital. The indie band David Devant & His Spirit Wife are named after him. He died on the 13th October 1941 and is buried in the west side of Highgate Cemetery.