Reginald Scot

Reginald Scot or Scott of Smeeth and Aldington, Kent, was an English politician and author who wrote The Discoverie of Witchcraft, which was published in 1584. It was written against the belief in witches, to show that witchcraft did not exist. Part of its content exposes how feats of magic were done, and the book is deemed the first work, in English, "to present a detailed description of sleight of hand and conjuring."