International Brotherhood of Magicians

History

The organization was founded February 10, 1922{{cite web | access-date = April 11, 2006 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by Len Vintus (stage name of Melvin Justus Given McMullen) of Transcona, Manitoba, which would later amalgamate with Winnipeg.{{cite encyclopedia | access-date = March 4, 2015 | access-date = April 11, 2006 | archive-date = April 28, 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060428055030/http://www.magictimes.com/archives/1999/1999-06_14-20.htm | url-status = dead |access-date=April 17, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051119123536/http://www.fism.org/Historic.htm |archive-date=November 19, 2005 |url-status=dead

Gene Gordon established the first local group, Ring 1, in Rochester, New York. The original Ring 1 eventually disbanded,{{cite web | access-date = April 11, 2006

The I.B.M. holds an annual convention, usually in June or July. Although the S.A.M. and the Magic Circle held banquets as early as 1905, the I.B.M. was the first to hold a magic convention, in Kenton, Ohio, on June 9–10, 1926. The 66th annual convention was held in Orlando, Florida.{{cite journal

Organization

Each international territory has a Territorial Vice President who coordinates with the Rings in that country and other Territorial Vice Presidents.

The International Brotherhood of Magicians has a number of local clubs, located throughout the world, known as Rings. Each Ring was originally numbered in sequence, based on when it received its charter from the I.B.M. Since then, some clubs have dissolved, and newer clubs have assumed some of the vacated ring numbers.

Membership

Membership is open to amateur and professional magicians, as well as those who collect magic apparatus and effects. Active members must be at least 18 years old, and youth members must be 7–17 years of age. Active members must have had an interest in magic for at least two years, or one year for youth members.

Leadership

Since 1937, a new International President is elected to the I.B.M. each year.

Past presidents include:

• Len Vintus 1922–1926
• W.W. Durbin 1926–1937
• John H. Davidson 1937–1938
• T. J. Crawford 1938–1939
• John Snyder Jr. 1939–1941
• Robert C. Anderson 1941–1942
• Eugene Bernstein 1942–1946
• John Braun 1946–1947
• A. Renerick Clark 1947–1948
• H. Adrian Smith 1948–1949
• William R Walsh 1949–1950
• Walter Coleman 1950–1951
• James B. Lake 1951–1952
• Arthur D. Reichenbach 1952–1953
• Forrest P. Hendricks 1953–1954
• C. James McLemore 1954–1955
• Charles A. RossKam 1955–1956
• Chauncey Sheridan 1956–1957
• L.A. Waterman 1957–1958
• Verne W. Uker 1958–1959
• Reeder C. Hutchinson 1959–1960
• Harris Solomon 1960–1961
• C.L. Schmitt 1961–1962
• Irving Lewis 1962–1963
• Arnold Drennen 1963–1964
• Thorton Poole 1964–1965
• Dr. Richard O. Mossey 1965–1966
• Howard Bamman 1966–1967
• Sydney S. Bergson 1967–1968
• J. Ronald Haines 1968–1969
• Royal Brin Jr. 1969–1970
• William G. Stickland 1970–1971
• Austin C. Gorham 1971–1972
• Robert B. Hurt 1972–1973
• Earle J. Christenberry Jr. 1973–1974
• Charles Lantz 1974–1975
• William Preston Slusher 1975–1976
• Walter F. Williams 1976–1977
• Jeffery Atkins 1977–1978
• Bill Pitts 1978–1979
• Ray Mangel 1979–1980
• Bruce Posgate 1980–1981
• Roger Crabtree 1981–1982
• John Makar 1982–1983
• William A. Wells 1983–1984
• Donald E. Wiberg 1984–1985
• William E. Spooner 1985–1986
• Karrell Fox 1986–1987
• June Horowitz 1987–1988
• Edward A. Morris 1988–1989
• Anthony Shelley 1989–1990
• Michael Ellis 1990–1991
• Michael J. Gorman 1991–1992
• James L. Nagel 1992–1993
• R.J. Obie O'Brien 1993–1994
• Jep Hostetler 1994–1995
• Kenneth Klosterman 1995–1996
• Bev Bergeron 1996–1997
• Abb Dickson 1997–1998
• John R. Browne 1998–1999
• Jerry Schnepp 1999–2000
• Jack Greenberg 2000–2001
• Robert A. Escher 2001–2002
• Michael Stratman 2002–2003
• David Sandy 2003–2004
• Tony Wilson 2004–2005
• Roger Miller 2005–2006
• Fred Casto 2006–2007
• Phil Willmarth 2007–2008
• Joan Caesar 2008–2009
• Jack White 2009–2010
• Rolando Santos 2010–2011
• Vanni Pulé 2011–2012
• John Pye 2012–2013
• Bill Evans 2013–2014
• Shawn Farquhar 2014–2015
• Joe M. Turner 2015–2016
• Oscar Muñoz 2016–2017
• Bob Patterson 2017–2018
• Michael Finney 2018–2019
• Alex Zander 2019–2020
• Stephen Bargatze 2020–2021
• Ken Scott 2021–2022
• Billy Hsueh 2022 - 2023
• Charles Arkin 2023-2024
• Mike Dunagan 2024-2025

Conventions

The International Brotherhood of Magicians holds annual conventions, usually in July. In 2008, 2014, and 2017, the I.B.M. and the Society of American Magicians hosted a combined convention. More than 1,900+ amateur and professional magicians from around the world attended the gatherings in Louisville, Kentucky, in July 2008, in St. Louis, Missouri, in July 2014, and again in Louisville, Kentucky, in July 2017.

Contest Awards

The International Brotherhood of Magicians held the world's first magic convention in 1926. Contests are held, and awards are given in several categories. Below is a listing of the First Place winners as noted in the I.B.M. Official publication, The Linking Ring. The Gold Cups and Gold Medal Awards are highly coveted and not awarded every year. Additional data for years not listed are available online and were published in the 2019 I.B.M. 91st Annual Convention souvenir program.

• The 2021 I.B.M. Convention was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Contests entries were selected from pre-recorded performance submissions.

References

References

1. (January 1985). "Ring Awards Contests". The Linking Ring.
2. "Past Presidents of the I.B.M. | Magician.org".
3. Wiberg, Don. (January 1985). "The President's Page". The Linking Ring.
4. Wiberg, Don. (April 1985). "The President's Page". The Linking Ring.
5. (April 2013). "Pictures from the Past". The Linking Ring.
6. "IBM/SAM Convention Review | Magician.org".
7. ''The Linking Ring''. (August 2019). p. 34
8. ''The Linking Ring''. (August 2018).
9. ''The Linking Ring''. (August 2017). p. 34
10. ''The Linking Ring''. (August 2016). p. 41
11. ''The Linking Ring''. (August 2015). p. 26
12. ''The Linking Ring''. (August 2014). p. 32
13. ''The Linking Ring''. (August 2013). p. 34
14. ''The Linking Ring''. (August 2012). p. 2
15. ''The Linking Ring''. (August 2011). p. 43
16. ''The Linking Ring''. (August 2010). p. 35
17. ''The Linking Ring''. (August 2009). p. 35