David Frederick Wingfield Verner was born in 1894 in Ottawa, Ontario. We all knew him as Dai Vernon, the insightful, innovative, and influential magician. The “adjustments” of his first name and surname have never been completely unraveled. He explained “Vernon” as confusion with another performer (perhaps a skater or a dancer). “Dai” is a Welsh diminutive of David. For over a century, magicians have pronounced it as “Dye,” but the Welsh nickname is pronounced “Day.”
