Throughout his life, Harry Houdini claimed that he was born April 6, 1874 in Appleton, Wisconsin. He was actually born on March 12, 1874 in Budpest, Hungary, with the name of Ehrich Weisz. He was one of six children and the son of a rabbi. In 1876, his family immigrated to the United States with the dream of a better life. During his early years, Ehrich sold newspapers and shined shoes to help support his family. On October 28, 1883, 9 year old Ehrich made his first appearance on stage, performing a trapeze act. He billed himself, "Ehrich, the Prince of the Air."
At 12 years old, he pursued magic and adopted the stage name Harry Houdini. At 17, he left his family and by 20, Harry was performing small acts throughout New York. Through the years, Houdini gained fame after repeatedly escaping from police handcuffs and jails. When he toured Europe, he expanded his repertoire by escaping from straitjackets and coffins.
In the 1920s, Harry became interested in the occult, specifically in debunking mediums and psychics. His training in magic helped him expose frauds that scientists and academics could not. In 1926, at the age of 52, Houdini died as a result of a ruptured appendix, after suffering a blow to the abdomen by university student, J. Gordon Whitehead.
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