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Richard Potter (b.1783-d.1835) is credited as the first successful stage magician born in the United States and as the first black magician.
Biography
Reportedly, Potter was the son of an English baronet, Charles Henry Frankland, and an African American woman (some say "slave"). Frankland, however, died years before Potter was born. Church records from Hopkinton, MA, list his father as George Simpson. His mother's name was Dinah, who was a slave on the Frankland estate. Potter went to England around 1798. There is no record of his actual education. He returned to the United States around 1801, probably with John Rannie, a professional magician whom he started out working for as an assistant in 1802.
One of the earliest records of Potter advertising a show was in Boston, November 2nd, 1811 at the Columbian Museum. He advertised his show as, "An Evening's Brush to Sweep Away Care, or a Medley to Please."