Allix

Allix was a 17th Century CE French mathematician, mechanic, and musician.de Plancy, J. C., (1863). Dictionnaire Infernal. 6ed. pg.21
== Life ==
Allix created an automaton that caused a skeleton to play a guitar - he attached a guitar to the skeleton's neck tuned to the same pitch as the one in its hands and placed the skeleton's fingers on the fretboard of the one it held. The resonance of the strings of the one he played interacted with modifications he had made to the skeleton, causing the one it held to match the notes automatically. The mechanisms he built moved the skeleton's fingers, but they did not actually touch the strings. 
Those who witnessed the skeleton immediately accused him of witchcraft, and he was put on trial. They did not understand his explanations as to the science behind the automaton, and he was sentenced to hanging alongside the "magical" skeleton. 
== Further Reading ==
* Universal Biography of Musicians, Fetis
== References ==
Category:Dictionnaire Infernal
Category:Debunked Magic