-
Harry was born as Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary.
-
Ehrich's family moved to Wisconsin to be with family there.
-
When he was 9 years old, he put on his first show. It was a circus, and he called himself the Prince of the Air.
-
Ehrich moved with his father to New York and he started doing magic shows with a friend. He started calling himself Harry Houdini.
-
Harry had joined up with a friend, and they called themselves the Brothers Houdini. Their first big show was in Chicago.
-
Harry's friend stopped performing, and he was eventually replaced with a girl named Bess. Bess and Harry were married, and the show was called, The Houdinis.
-
The Houdini's first famous trick was one where they traded places inside a locked trunk. Harry also did tricks escaping from handcuffs.
-
Harry had a catalogue made up to mail out for Harry Houdini's school of magic. He was frustrated with the business and considered quitting.
-
Houdini's show was seen by a theater manager who asked Harry to start working for him. Houdini began work in the theater and soon everyone was coming to see him.
-
Houdini travelled to England and then Germany, doing all of his tricks. He became famous overseas.
-
A blacksmith in England had taken 5 years to make an escape-proof set of handcuffs. It took Houdini 1 hour to break free.
-
Harry Houdini was locked in a Washington D.C. prison cell, but he escaped easily.
-
Houdini allowed himself to be handcuffed and chained, and then he jumped off a bridge. When he escaped and came up for air, the crowds celebrated.
-
Houdini acted in a movie called The Master Mystery, and later he started his own production company.
-
Harry died in Detroit after a show, from complication of appendicitis. The world mourned for their favorite magician, but his thrilling acts are still used and remembered today.