John Nevil Maskelyne, known professionally as Nevil Maskelyne (1863–1924), was a British magician and inventor.
Nevil Maskelyne
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Nevil Maskelyne circa 1903
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| Born | John Nevil Maskelyne 1863 (1863)
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
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| Died | 22 September 1924(1924-09-22) (aged 61)
Marylebone, London, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Stage magician |
| Spouse | Ada Mary Ardley (1863–1918) |
| Children | Jasper Maskelyne |
| Parents |
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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]
Inwireless 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]
Maskelyne wrote several books on magic, including Our Magic: The Art in Magic, the Theory of Magic, the Practice of Magic (with David Devant) and On the Performance of Magic.
Maskelyne married Ada Mary Ardley (1863–1918) on 9 July 1888 at St Mary's Church, Battersea, London. They had five children:[6]
He died in Marylebone on 22 September 1924.