Count Alessandro de Cagliostro, né
Giuseppe Balsamo, 1743-1795. From early failures as a
monk and
swindler, took up
alchemy in
Egypt,
Rhodes and
Malta, married
Lorenza Feliciani and ended up "telling
fortunes, selling alchemical
secrets, raising
spirits, and doing whatever itinerant
magicians must do to get along" - including, reputedly, discovering the secret of the
philosopher's stone.
Became a Freemason in England, from whence he established Egyptian Freemasonry - installing himself as the Grand Copt - and cultivated a reputation among the highest of international circles, notably at the court of Louis XVI, where he was enmeshed in the Affair of the Queen's Necklace.
Was sentenced by the Inquisition for heresy and being a sorcerer in the Papal States in 1789, dying imprisoned in a Roman dungeon.