This Day In History- 31 Oct
“My Two Sweethearts” – Houdini with his mother and wife, c. 190731 Oct 1926—This day in history— The world-famous escape artist and magician Harry Houdini passed away in a Detroit hospital due to peritonitis. A few days prior, Houdini made a comment about the strength of his stomach muscles during a lecture in Montreal and was unexpectedly punched twice by a student.
Unprepared for the blows, his appendix ruptured, and he fell ill on his journey to Detroit. Despite performing one final time, he was eventually hospitalized and underwent surgery. Unfortunately, the burst appendix had already poisoned his body, and he passed away on October 31st.
Erik Weisz, known as Houdini, was born in Budapest in 1874. When Erik was young, his father, a rabbi, moved the family to Appleton, Wisconsin. He quickly showed off his natural ability for acrobatics and lock-picking.
By age nine, he had joined a traveling circus where he showcased his talents as a contortionist and trapeze artist. However, it wasn’t until he began specializing in escape acts that he gained true fame. He wowed audiences with his seemingly impossible escapes from handcuffs and other restraints. In 1900, he embarked on his first international tour and became a sensation all over Europe.
Unlike other magicians, Houdini relied solely on his strength, dexterity, and intense concentration to execute his escapes—no trickery was involved.
In his later years, Houdini actively fought against mediums, mind readers, fakirs, and others who claimed to possess supernatural abilities but relied on tricks. Despite this, he maintained a strong interest in spiritualism and made a promise with his wife and friends that the first one to pass away would attempt to communicate with the living world from beyond the grave. Many of those friends did die, but Houdini never received any message from them.
Then, on Halloween night in 1926, Houdini himself passed away at the age of 52. His wife waited eagerly for a sign from him, but none ever came; she ultimately declared the experiment a failure shortly before she died in 1943.
Until next time, Keep Reading and Stay Caffeinated.
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