List of alchemists
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An alchemist is a person versed in the art of alchemy. Western alchemy flourished in Greco-Roman Egypt, the Islamic world during the Middle Ages, and then in Europe from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Indian alchemists and Chinese alchemists made contributions to Eastern varieties of the art. Alchemy is still practiced today by a few, and alchemist characters still appear in recent fictional works and video games.
A large number of alchemists are known from the thousands of surviving alchemical manuscripts and books. Some of their names are listed below. Due to the tradition of pseudepigraphy, the true author of some alchemical writings may differ from the name most often associated with that work. Some well-known historical figures such as Albertus Magnus and Aristotle are often incorrectly named amongst the alchemists as a result.
Legendary alchemists
Alchemists in Greco-Roman Egypt
- Agathodaemon
- Chymes
- Cleopatra the Alchemist
- Mary the Jewess
- Moses of Alexandria
- Olympiodorus of Thebes (c. 400)
- Paphnutia the Virgin (c. 300)
- Pseudo-Aristotle
- Pseudo-Democritus
- Pseudo-Plato
- Stephen of Alexandria
- Zosimos of Panopolis (c. 300)
Indian alchemists
- Kanada, sage and philosopher (6th century BC)
- Nagarjuna, the 10th century South Indian king
- Yogi Vemana
- Siddhar Tamil sage and philosophers
- Nayanmars Tamil sage and philosophers
- Alvars Tamil sage and philosophers
- Vallalar, Tamil 18th Century sage and philosopher
- Arunagirinathar Tamil 15th Century sage and philosopher
- Karunakara swamigal Tamil 19th Century
Chinese alchemists
- Wei Boyang
- Zhang Guo the Elder (c. 600)
Islamic alchemists
- Khalid ibn Yazid, "Calid" (d. 704)
- Jābir ibn Hayyān, "Geber" (c. 721 – 815)
- Dhul-Nun al-Misri (b. 796)
- Al-Kindi, "Alkindus" (801 – 873), a critic of alchemy
- Al-Farabi, "Alfarabi" (870 – 950/951)
- Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi, "Rhazes" (864 – 930)
- Muhammed ibn Umail al-Tamimi, "Senior Zadith" (c. 900–960)
- Abu Ali al-Husain ibn Abdallah ibn Sina, "Avicenna" (980 – 1037), a critic of alchemy, Father of modern Medicine
- Al-Tughrai (1061–1121)
- Artephius (c. 1150)
European alchemists
- Alain de Lille (Born from 1115 to 1128 – died in 1202(1203?))
- Albertus Magnus (1193–1280)
- Roger Bacon (1214–1294)
- Pseudo-Geber (Spain, 13th century)
- Ramon Llull (Raymond Lulli) (1235–1315)
- Pope John XXII (1249–1334)
- John Dastin (early 14th)
- Arnold of Villanova (1245 – ?(before 1311))
- Jean de Meung (c.1250 – c.1305)
- Petrus Bonus (Early 14th century)
- Ortolanus or Hortulanus (fl. 1358)
- Jean de Roquetaillade (Johannes de Rupescissa ) (d. 1336)
- Gilles de Rais (1401–1440)
- Bernard Trevisan (Bernard of Treves) (1406–1490)
- Johann of Laz (15th century)
- George Ripley (England, 15th century)
- Thomas Norton (c. 1433-c. 1513)
- Johannes Trithemius (1462–1516)
- Johann Georg Faust (ca. 1480–1540)
- Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486–1535)
- Paracelsus (1493–1541)
- Thomas Charnock (1516/1524/1526–1581)
- François Hotman (1524–1590)
- John Dee (1527–1609)
- Gerhard Dorn (c. 1530–1584)
- Martin Ruland the Elder (1532-1602)
- Richard Stanihurst (1547–1618)
- Tycho Brahe (1546–1601)
- Samuel Norton (1548–1621)
- Edward Kelley (1555–1597)
- Basilius Valentinus (Basil Valentine) (16/17th century)
- Andreas Libavius (1555–1616)
- François Béroalde de Verville (1556–1626)
- Heinrich Khunrath (circa 1560–1605)
- Oswald Croll (circa 1563-1609)
- Melchior Cibinensis (16th century)
- Jean D'Espagnet (1564 – c. 1637)
- Michał Sędziwój (1566–1636)
- Benedictus Figulus (born 1567)
- Michael Maier (1568–1622)
- Martin Ruland the Younger (1569 – 1611)
- Jacob Boehme (1575–1624)
- Jan Baptist van Helmont (1577–1644)
- Arthur Dee (1579–1651)
- Johann Daniel Mylius (c. 1583-1642)
- Johann Moriaen (1591-1668)
- William Backhouse (1593 – 1662)
- Baro Urbigerus
- Ali Puli (17th century)
- Daniel Stolz von Stolzenberg (Daniel Stolcius) (1600–1660)
- Johannes Nicolaus Furichius (1602-1633)
- Edward Dyer (d. 1607)
- Basset Jhones (b. 1613)
- Elias Ashmole (1617–1692)
- Thomas Henshaw (1618–1700)
- Edmund Dickinson (1624–1707)
- Johann Friedrich Schweitzer (1625–1709)
- Frederick Clod (b. 1625)
- Giuseppe Francesco Borri (1627–1695)
- Robert Boyle (1627–1691)
- George Starkey (alchemist) (1628–1665)
- Hening Brand (c.1630–1710)
- Johann Kunckel (1630–1703)
- Johann Joachim Becher (1635–1682)
- Isaac Newton (1642–1727)
- Claude Duval (1643–1670)
- Dionysius Andreas Freher (1649–1728)
- Georg von Welling (1652-1727)
- Anton Josef Kirchweger ((d.1746))
- Alessandro Cagliostro (1743–1795)
- James Price (1752–1783)
- Count of St Germain (d. 1784)
- Johann Christoph von Wöllner (1732–1800)
- August Strindberg (1849–1912)
- Franz Tausend (1884–1942)
- Johann Isaac Hollandus
- Fulcanelli (pseudonym; dates unknown: Late 19th century – early 20th.)
- R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz (1887-1961)
Revival and modern alchemists
- Frater Albertus (Dr. Albert Reidel) (1911–1984)
- Eugène Canseliet (1899–1982)
- Serge Hutin (1927–1997)
- Max Magnus Norman (1973 – )
- Terrence McKenna (1946–2000)
- Diane Di Prima (1932 – )
- Rudolf von Sebottendorf (1875-1945)
- Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925)
- Apiano León de Valiente (1933 - )
Scholars of alchemy
- Titus Burckhardt (1908-1984)
- Marie-Louise von Franz (1915–1998)
- Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (1953-2012)
- Carl Jung (1875 – 1961)
- Edmund Oscar von Lippmann (1857-1940)
- Adam McLean (b. 1948)
- Joost Ritman (b. 1941)
- Herbert Silberer (1882-1923)
- F. Sherwood Taylor (1857-1956)
- Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942)
Fictional alchemists
- Diablo, an enemy of the Fantastic Four
- Characters from Fullmetal Alchemist
- Riccardo and Aureolus Lorenzo Belli, Haunting Ground
- Ivy Valentine, Soul Calibur
- Rorolina Frixell, Totooria Helmold, and Merurulince Rede Arls, Arland Series
- Magnus, The Vampire Chronicles
- The Alchemist, The Venture Bros.
- Daitokuji, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
- Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter
- Sydney Sage, Vampire Academy
- Myrnin, Morganville Vampires
- Mrs. Muvias, The Secret Series
- Epiphany Greaves-Constantine, Hellblazer
- Otomai, Wakfu
- Claude Frollo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Count Manzeppi, The Wild Wild West