Rank 3: Nicolas Flamel
Nicolas Flamel is probably best known to most from the first part of Harry Potter. The quite elderly wizard developed the Philosopher’s Stone, which granted him and his wife immortality. He was also a good friend of Albus Dumbledore and appears as a character in the spin-off series “Fantastic Beasts”.
What some may not know: This Nicolas Flamel actually existed. Together with his wife, he lived in France until the beginning of the 15th century and worked as a scholar and scribe. Even in his lifetime, there were rumors that Flamel had acquired the so-called Philosopher’s Stone, which granted him gold and a longer life. For a long time, it was also said that Flamel had written alchemical books. However, these later turned out to be forgeries.
No one has ever proven whether Flamel actually researched a “Philosopher’s Stone.” However, the legend of him and his immortality has been extensively popularized, for example, in the book series “The Secrets of Nicholas Flamel” by Michael Scott or the well-known thriller “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown.
