Inside the mysterious life and death of Harry Houdini

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Inside the mysterious life and death of Harry Houdini
Inside the mysterious life and death of Harry Houdini 3 Minutes Read 702 Words EN HISTORY & CULTURE Ehrich Weiss transformed himself into one of history's best magicians—but he never gave away his secrets. Harry Houdini in chains, circa 1900. Photograph by Look and Learn/Bridgeman Images Published September 8, 2025This piece is excerpted from National Geographic's Book of Magic and the Occult: A Visual History . He’s the most famous magician to ever live, but few realize that Harry Houdini (1874–1926) began life as Ehrich Weiss, a rabbi’s son from Budapest. After moving to America as a young child, he was soon performing in his neighborhood circus as “Ehrich, the Prince of the Air.” Before long, he was touring circuses and vaudeville circuits around the States as Houdini, a name inspired by the French father of modern magic , Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin. After years of minimal success, Houdini and his wife, Bess, began experimenting with an escape routine that involved handcuffs and lock…