Harry Houdini for Kids: His Life and Adventures with 21 Magic Tricks and Illusions
TIME LINE 1878 Ehrich Weisz born in Budapest Hungary 1878 Weiner family moves to Appleton Wisconsin changes name to Weiss 1887 Weiss family moves to New York City 189 Ehrich joins with a friend to create a magic act the Houdini Brothers He begins using the name Harry Houdini 1892 Harry s father dies 1893 Harry's brother Dash replaces friend in the Houdini Brothers they perform at Chicago World's Fair 1893 Harry marries Bees Rahner after know ing her for three weeks Harry and Bess now The Houdinis spend six years struggling with their act 1899 Houdinis got a big break perform in top Vaudeville theaters across the country 1900 Houdinis tour Britain and Europe 190s Houdinis return to United States and buy a house in New York City and a small farm in Connecticut 1901 Harry begins doing handcuffed bridge jump
1908 Harry does the Milk Can Escape 1910 Harry is the first person to ry an air plane in Australia he spends three and a half minutes in the air 1912 Harry does the Chinese Water Torture Cell stunt 1914 World War I begins 1918 Harry does the Vanishing Elephant act as part of a large extravaganza marking the end of World War I 1910 Harry becomes a movie star when The Master Mystery opens in theaters 1920 The Funk and Wagmails includes the word boudinize which means to release or extricate oneself from confinement bonds or the like as by wriggling out 1922 Houdini begins investigating spirit mediums 1926 in February Harry testifies before a congressional committee investigating paranormal frauds or anyone pretending to tell fortunes for money In October while at McGill University in Montreal Canada Harry is punched hard in the stomach He becomes ill and a few days later has his appendix removed Aler another surgery he dies on October 31 in Detroit Michigan 2002 US Postal Service issues a first class commemorative stamp honoring Houdini
INTRODUCTION oudini created Houdini When considering the life of Ehrich Weisz who would become the great Harry Houdini it’s important to note that some stories he told have been contradicted and H 29 that he often re created his past for personal rea sons His birth date birthplace childhood and other details were often changed In the late 1800s Jewish immigrants faced discrimination in the United States a condition that worsened as Houdini came to adult hood and led him to smooth over his foreign roots As a child he was reared in a household where no English was spoken his parents spoke German When touring in Europe he taught himself to speak other languages so he could better connect with the audience and his childhood German came in handy He also dabbled in speaking French Russian and Danish But his allegiance was never in question After World War I began he found himself more determined than ever to be recognized as a solid citi zen of the United States In many ways Houdini's rise to fame was a result of the conditions that existed during the era in which he lived The country faced internal divisions and bit ter conflicts between employees and employers Urban tenements were packed with frustrated peo
