The Great Houdini

The Great Houdini (Erich Weisz) was born on March 24th, 1874, in Budapest, Hungary.  One of seven children, Erich moved with his family to Appleton, Wisconsin, as a child.  At the age of 13, he moved with his father to New York City where the two took on odd jobs while living in a boarding house before bringing the rest of the family to join them.  It was during this time that he became interested in trapeze arts and considered working in the circus.  In 1894, Erich launched his professional career as a magician, and renamed himself Harry Houdini, the first name taken from his childhood nickname, “Ehrie,” and the last an homage to the great French magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin.  Though his magic met with little immediate success, it wasn’t long before he drew sizable crowds for his amazing feats of escape from handcuffs.   Read more . . .