The History of Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini is considered the most influential, and notable magician in the art of magic and escapology. His life was home to countless events, many in which made history, in the eyes of citizens of the world. Houdini was a fascinating character, always pushing the boundary between life and death. Today, he is known well across the globe, for his many feats of the impossible and overwhelming.

Ehrich Weiss, later named Harry Houdini, was born in Budapest, Hungary on March 24th, 1874. His parents were Cecilia Steiner and Mayer Samuel Weiss, a substantial lawyer. Ehrich was the brother of seven other siblings. They were a well-off family, who never had to worry. When Ehrich was just four years old, his family and he moved to the United States, potentially settling down in Appleton, Wisconsin. Later, Houdini always claimed this town was his actual birthplace, but folks new that was merely false. It was in this town that Ehrich started to be nicknamed ‘Ehrie’, which later became Harry.

After just over 4 years of living in Appleton, the family moved to Milwaukee, where they were rather poor due to Harry’s father losing his job. Harry soon became intrigued by British circus performers, and was starting to take interest in acrobatics and athletics. He started to want more. Getting a job as tie-cutter, Harry attended every theater performance that his salary would allow him. He began competing in local sporting events, and even became a member of the Pastime Athletics Club. It is said that Houdini had even tried out for a US Olympic Team for various aptitudes he possessed. It was at this time period in which Harry discovered the art of magic.

The Memoirs of Robert Houdin would be the book that made Houdini fall in love with t...

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...ave Houdini a challenge. It was to escape a pair of impossible handcuffs that apparently took a Birmingham locksmith seven years to make. Accepting the challenge, Houdini dramatically escaped from the handcuffs in just 90 consecutive minutes. To this day, folks still can’t figure out how he done it.

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