25 Most Famous Wizards Throughout History and in Movies

Famous wizards abound in history, in mysticism, in the movies, and the list include Harry Potter, Filius Flitwick, Garrick Ollivander, Quirinus Quirrell, Gilderoy Lockhart, Cedric Diggory, Nostradamus, Prospero, Aleister Crowley, Dr Strange, etc

Many historical and mystical wizards form the characters depicted in fictional movies today. The likes of the Harry Porter series are known for their incredible wizardry, as seen in the Hufflepuff Wizards and and the Ravenclaw Wizards. Historical figures like Nostradamus, Prospero, and Aleister Crowley have well-deserved spots on this list and also the mythical wizards that are all-powerful.

Famous Ravenclaw Wizards

Ravenclaw is known as the Hogwarts House of geniuses and eccentrics in the Harry Potter franchise with its crop of powerful wizards.

  1. Harry Potter

Famous Wizards
Harry Porter image source

Harry Potter is a name that deserves a mention when you want to talk about Ravenclaw Wizards. Orphaned as a newborn, Harry grew up under the watch of his relatives, where he faced maltreatment.

When he turned 11, Harry discovered his magical powers, which led him to join the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to hone his natural skills, marking the beginning of his wizardry. This fictional wizard was the lead character in the famous Harry Potter franchise.

2. Filius Flitwick

Famous Wizards
Filius Flitwick image source

Filius Flitwick makes our list of the most Famous Wizards. He was the one who headed Ravenclaw House while Harry Porter was attending Hogwarts as the professor of Charms class, and he is listed among the most powerful Ravenclaws. During his younger days, he functioned as a dueler and is known to be half Goblin, which gives him a longer lifespan and stronger magic.

A better part of his life was spent teaching the younger generation spell-casting tricks using their magic wands.

3. Garrick Ollivander

Famous Wizards
Garrick Ollivander image source

Another famous Ravenclaw wizard is Garrick Ollivander, who was already practicing magic long before the famed Harry Potter got his first wand from Diagon Alley. Garrick was the man who ran the Ollivander family wand shop.

He was skilled in creating perfect wands, and in addition, he also had the knack for the exact wand that was suitable for each wizard. He made a mark among wizards of the UK, making their craft easier. Garrick Ollivander has a photographic memory, as the Ravenclaw remembers every single wand he sold and the wizard that bought it.

4. Quirinus Quirrell

Famous Wizards
Quirinus Quirrell image source

Our Famous Wizards list must include Quirinus Quirrell. Professor Quirrell, as he is called, is listed among the most influential Ravenclaws. Powerful and intelligent, Quirinus had Voldemort living comfortably on the back side of his head for one year.

Dubbed the master of deception, the Ravenclaw cut the image of a coward before his students as they believed he warded off vampires with garlic in his turban. However, the truth is that Quirinus is one of Voldemort’s followers; in reality, he is highly calculating and cold. With his intelligence, the professor found the dark wizard and was planning to bring him to life when he was bested by Harry, but not without a good fight.

5. Gilderoy Lockhart

Famous Wizards
Gilderoy Lockhart image source

Ravenclaw graduated a lot of wizards, but Gilderoy Lockhart is listed among its most famous graduates. His proficiency with memory and natural ability to weave very tall tales distinguished him. The books he wrote about his exploits were busted when it became glaring that he didn’t undertake those exploits.

Lockhart’s ability to obliterate people’s memories was stopped by Ron Weasley and Harry Potter when they made him wipe his own memory instead.

Famous Hufflepuff Wizards

Hufflepuff is part of the Hogwarts houses in Harry Potter and it embodies some of the most famous wizards that have contributed to shaping the magical world significantly.

6. Cedric Diggory

Famous Wizads
Cedric Diggory image source

Cedric Diggory deserves a mention among the most famous wizards list. A Hufflepuff, Cedric was among the first to be known.

It was at the Triwizard Tournament that his true power as a champion shined through, but before then, he was Seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, including a Prefect. His clever transformation made it possible for him to trick a dragon during his first task and get access to the golden egg. His second task was also successful, and he had help from Harry Porter in his third task to reach the Triwizard Cup. However, Voldemort ordered Peter Pettigrew to kill him, which marked the end of his life.

7. Theseus Scamander

Famous wizarads
Theseus Scamander image source

Theseus Scamander was a Hufflepuff hero. During the World War, he rendered help to Muggles, and ten years on, his name still rang a bell as a hero. The British Ministry of Magic made him the Head of the Auror Office – a feat only meant for the most accomplished Aurors.

His powers made it possible to become the leader of the Gellert Grindelwald hunt, battling evil wizards and helping save Paris from the consuming blue fire that he helped put out. He is likely to get even more powerful with the continuation of the Fantastic Beasts movie series.

8. Newt Scamander

Famous Wizards
Newt Scamander image source

Out of all the famous wizards, none understands magical creatures as much as Newt Scamander. This was precisely where his incredible power lies, and he leveraged it to educate others on the best way to co-exist peacefully with magical creatures and control and assist them simultaneously.

9. Fat Friar

Famous Wizards
Fat Friar image source

Fat Friar has been described as a true Hufflepuff. During his lifetime, he was leveraging his magic to heal peasants who had pox by poking them with a stick. His kindness extends to death – when he became a ghost, Friar had the heart to forgive Peeves despite his troublesomeness. He even went against his fellow Hogwarts ghosts to give Peeves a second chance.

10. Silvanus Kettleburn

Famous Wizards
Silvanus Kettleburn image source

Silvanus Kettleburn was a Professor of Care for Magical Creatures and Rubeus Hagrid’s predecessor. He was known for his unreasonable recklessness that was only comparable to that of Kettleburn, who was quite a character. The consequences of Kettleburn’s recklessness made him lose most of his limbs.

Famous Wizards In History

A plethora of famous wizards are listed in history, including the likes of Nostradamus, Prospero, Aleister Crowley, and more.

11. Nostradamus

Famous Wizards
Nostradamus image source

The French astrologer, Nostradamus existed during the 16th century and was patronized by several noblemen, including the wife of King Henry II of France, Catherine de’ Medici. Nostradamus’ reputation as a seer was cemented when his predictions about his three sons becoming kings came to pass, they eventually reigned as Kings Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III.

His book titled Les Propheties, contained other predictions, including the rise and fall of Napoleon, the rise of Adolf Hitler, WWI, WWII, and even the September 11 attacks, all of which came to pass.

12. Prospero

Famous wizards
Prospero image source

In William Shakespeare’s drama, The Tempest, Prospero is the protagonist. A historical figure, Prospero was the Duke of Milan until his brother betrayed and set him and his daughter adrift.

When father and daughter eventually settled on an island, Prospero leveraged his magical powers to control the weather and fend off threats. His powers also released Ariel and binds Caliban.

13. Aleister Crowley

Famous wizards
Aleister Crowley image source

The list of famous wizards in history cannot be complete without mentioning Aleister Crowley. An English occultist, Aleister functioned as a philosopher, poet, ceremonial magician, painter, mountaineer, and novelist.

After he claimed to be a prophet, Aleister founded the religion of Thelema and without prior preparations, he leveraged imitative magic to spiritually knock his congregation to the ground. He reigned from 1875-1947 and was made a cult figure after his death.

14. Gandalf

Famous Wizards
Gandalf image source

Only a few famous wizards could rival Gandalf in power, wisdom, and sheer tenacity. The growing threat of Sauron in the Middle-earth was a menace during his time and Gandalf was part of the mighty Istari that went to combat it.

He took charge of the Fellowship of the Ring, guiding them with remarkable cunning and resilience.

15. Saruman

Famous wizards
Saruman image source

Also known as Saruman the White, Saruman worked like Gandalf. Valar sent him to the Middle-earth to lead other wizards during the Third Age. As a wizard leader, Saruman had more access to power compared to his contemporaries. He was equally as cunning as Gandalf, and had a great understanding of Sauron.

Famous Wizards In Mythology

Many famous wizards exist in mythology, including Merlin, Shazam, Jafar, and more

16. Shazam the Wizard

Famous wizards
Shazam image source

The famous wizard Shazam was an ancient Egyptian sorcerer. He fought against evil for ages in his Golden Age incarnation and when old age came calling, he got a teen called Billy to carry on some of those incredible powers. The teenager only needed to mention Shazam’s name. Though he passed on a long time ago, the ghost of Shazam still works through Billy.

17. Merlin

Famous wizards
Merlin image source

We saw the mythological character of Merlin in the Arthurian legend as King Arthur’s right-hand man. His work was to leverage his extraordinary powers in assisting Arthur’s kingdom. However, Merlin’s weakness was women and that was what led to his end. The character of Merlin has been depicted in pop culture by many movie makers and has been played by many, including Jacques Chambon, Yasuo Hisamatsu, Joseph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, and Ben Kingsley among others.

18. Jafar

Famous wizards
Jafar image source

The notoriously scheming Jafar was a royal vizier of Agrabah and during his reign, he was a master of deception. When it comes to sorcery, Jafar was second to none.

However, the lust for power drove him to attain magical powers encompassing mind control, shape-shifting, and that dreadful ability to reach out beyond the grave and summon dark powers.

19. Rumplestiltskin

Famous wizards
Rumplestiltskin

Rumplestiltskin is an enigmatic figure that we cannot fail to mention on this list of most famous wizards.

This mythological character is quite captivating with his supernatural ability to easily spin straw into gold. Rumplestiltskin was over-ambitious, cunning, and a mischief-maker. Leveraging his magical powers, he struck bargains with unwitting individuals. His complexities are testaments to the entrancing allure of tales woven with magic.

20. Sparrowhawk

Famous wizards
Sparrowhawk image source

From humble beginnings, Sparrowhawk went on to gain fame as a prominent wizard in Earthsea. The former reckless youth is known as a master of lore, magical language, and more. He had the supernatural capacity to bend reality to his will.

From arrogance, he journeyed to wisdom and his experience is a testament to an ageless tale of personal growth as well as the transformative power of modesty.

Famous Wizards In Movies

Through pop culture, we have watched many actors portray some of the most famous wizards in history. A few are listed below.

21. Albus Dumbledore

Famous Wizards
Albus Dumbledore image source

In the Harry Porter series, we saw Albus Dumbledore’s character depicted by Michael Gambon. His extraordinary abilities and magical powers earned him a spot on the list of most famous wizards. The wizarding school Hogwarts enjoyed his services as its headmaster and though he was extremely powerful, Albus used his wizardry for good.

Kind, benevolent, and serene, he rarely displays negative emotions like fear anger, and more. Skilled in both Occlumency and Legilimency, Albus was so powerful that even wizard Lord Voldemort truly feared him.

22. Dr. Strange 

Famous wizards
Dr. Strange image source

In the 2016 movie Dr. Strange we saw actor Benedict Cumberbatch depict the title character. As a member of the Avengers, he was the Sorcerer Supreme and was also the most skilled and most powerful. He had the power to summon the Vishanti (the three supernatural, god-like beings).

He performs magic with supernatural abilities, including the Cloak of Levitation, The Eye of Agamotto, and more.

23. Shang Tsun 

Famous Wizards
Shang Tsun image source

In the movie Mortal Kombat, the role of Shang Tsun was played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. To strengthen his cosmic powers and fuel his stolen life force, Tsun consumes people’s souls just to achieve his set goals. He set out to corrupt the Mortal Kombat Tournament and in the process possess all the warrior’s souls with a mix of sorcery and science.

24. Alastor Moody

Famous wizards
Alastor Moody image source

In the Harry Potter series, Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody has incredible skills and abilities. A pure-blood wizard, he was an Auror and also belonged to the Order of the Phoenix. Though he cut the image of a neurotic man, Moody had a supernatural eye through which he could see everything. This role was depicted by Julian McMahon.

Though he met his end while fighting the Battle of the Seven Potters, the famous wizard challenged and fought Lord Voldemort alongside his Death Eaters.

25. Doctor Victor Von Doom

Famous wizards
Doctor Victor Von Doom image source

One Marvel Cinematic supervillain that has gained so much popularity is Doctor Victor Von Doom. A seasoned politician, Doom was seen as the Monarch and Supreme Leader of the Kingdom of Latveria.

With his scientific abilities, he can replicate and steal other people’s powers. An inventor, brilliant scientist, mighty sorcerer, and more, there is no end to Doom’s capabilities.

FAQ

Who is the most famous wizard of all time?

The title of the most famous wired of all time goes to sorcerers like Albus Dumbledore, Gandalf the Grey, Harry Potter, Merlin, and more.

Who is the greatest fictional wizard?

Harry Potter, Gandalf, Geralt of Rivia, Palpatine, and Lord Voldemort are listed among the world’s greatest fictional wizard.

Who are the most feared wizards of all time?

The most feared wizards of all time include the likes of Albus Dumbledore, Gandalf the Grey, Harry Potter, and Merlin.

Who is the most powerful witch ever?

Undeniably, Mary Sibley earns the title of the most powerful witch, with exceptional abilities ranging from reanimation to casting unbreakable curses, and astral projection.

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