Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (December 6, 1805 – June 13, 1871) was a French magician. He is widely considered the father of the modern style of conjuring.



Robert-Houdin is often credited as being "the father of modern magic". Before him, magicians performed in marketplaces and fairs, but Robert-Houdin performed magic in theatres and private parties. He also chose to wear formal clothes, like those of his audiences. Many magicians today mimic this by wearing tail-coats, though other magicians view this as old-fashioned and believe that they should wear contemporary clothes. Doug Henning was the first to rebel against this stereotype with a distinctive modern look of his own.

Source: Wikipedia.org