Back In 1926, Magic Great Harry Houdini Died After A Show In Michigan

Growing up like many young kids I was fascinated by magic. I was curious about how they did the tricks and wanted to learn about them myself. I remember begging my mom to take me to a magic store so I could buy a magic trick to learn and show my friends.

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If I remember correctly she bought me a linking magic ring kit that looks similar to this

The ring trick works when the magician bangs two metallic rings together causing them to become linked. The magician can interlink and separate the solid metal rings at will.

Harry Houdini A Magic Great Died After His Last Show In Detroit

As my interest grew in magic, I learned about a man from Budapest, Hungry named Ehrich Weiss aka Harry Houdini and was blown away by some of the amazing magic tricks he did.

One thing I never knew until recently was that Houdini died in Michigan after doing his last show in Detroit back in 1926.

How Did Harry Houdini Die?

It's kind of fitting that there is still a mystery behind exactly what killed Harry Houdini. According to PBS Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926 and the official cause of death was peritonitis caused by a ruptured appendix.

The Mystery Behind Harry Houdinis Death

Harry Houdini was known to have an "iron stomach" and could handle any blow above the waist. According to the legend Houdini was sitting on a couch for a student to sketch his portrait at McGill University in Montreal when another student came up to him and asked if he could test his "iron stomach". Houdini agreed but before he could tighten up his stomach muscles to protect and absorb the blow the student hit him three times.

The punches hurt Houdini pretty badly, but he continued on his tour arriving in Detroit on October 24th, 1926 for what would end up being his last show. Houdini didn't feel well before the show and was suffering from acute appendicitis and a fever of 104 but he still went on with the show. The next day Houdini had surgery to remove his appendix but it was too late. The infection had spread and four days later he died on Halloween at the age of 52 with his wife and two brothers by his side.

I have to wonder - if that had never happened what else would Houdini have gone on to do?

One thing is for sure, he made a lasting impact on the world and inspired countless men and women to pursue magic.