Harry Houdini’s Death

October 31, 1926

I read that if you ask ten people to name a magician, nine will reply “Harry Houdini.” Well, only half of my friends and family named Houdini, but considering he died seventy-nine years ago this Halloween, that’s an awesome amount of fame. Houdini was a legendary magician, escape artist, contortionist, and showman. Here’s where his spirit is still haunting.

American Variety Stage: Houdini
This online Harry Houdini exhibit is presented by the Library of Congress. It includes 143 photographs and twenty-nine personal items dating from 1886 to Houdini’s death in 1926. The exhibit is organized as a hyperlinked biography – to see the photos and memorabilia, just click on the underlined links. Treasures to be discovered include Houdini’s personal letterhead which quotes the 1920 Funk & Wagnalls definition of “houdinize, vt. To release or extricate oneself from confinement, bonds, or the like, as by wiggling out.”

[Continue reading Harry Houdini]

More Surfing the Calendar