*Ø* Blogmanac October 31, 1926 | Death of the great Houdini
Among the many great feats of the magician, escapologist and stunt performer Harry Houdini (Ehrich Weisz –American immigration officials changed Weisz to Weiss) (March 24, 1874 - October 31, 1926) was the ability to withstand any man’s punch to his abdomen. He used to prepare his body for this trick before the show, but on October 22 a student, Joselyn Gordon Whitehead, approached him when Houdini was unprepared, punching the great showman three times in the belly. He did several shows at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit after that, but soon became ill. Nine days later in room 401 of Detroit's old Grace Hospital, Harry Houdini died of the peritonitis that followed the rupturing of his appendix, on this day in 1926.
Was Whitehead to blame?
However, the rupturing of his appendix was quite possibly not Whitehead’s fault. It was long assumed that the blows to his stomach and his ruptured appendix were related. This seemed a natural enough explanation at the time, even to his doctors, and this is how the legend began. However, we now know this explanation is incorrect: appendicitis is not caused by physical trauma. The abdominal blows received by Houdini might indeed have hastened his death, but not in the way usually imagined: he was probably already suffering from appendicitis at the time. The great magician might have explained his subsequent stomach pain as being caused by the punches he took rather than the pre-existing inflammation of his appendix. We may conjecture that because the dressing room incident occurred, Houdini might have not realized his pain was an indication of disease, and might have delayed two days before seeking medical treatment.
The greatest magician who ever lived is buried in Machpelah cemetary, Cypress Hills Street, Queens, New York City.
Images
Houdini posters
Copy of Houdini's Death Certificate
Houdini's Body Arrives at Grand Central Station, New York
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your publication, on application. Further details
Receive similar items free each day with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine. Send a blank email
Among the many great feats of the magician, escapologist and stunt performer Harry Houdini (Ehrich Weisz –American immigration officials changed Weisz to Weiss) (March 24, 1874 - October 31, 1926) was the ability to withstand any man’s punch to his abdomen. He used to prepare his body for this trick before the show, but on October 22 a student, Joselyn Gordon Whitehead, approached him when Houdini was unprepared, punching the great showman three times in the belly. He did several shows at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit after that, but soon became ill. Nine days later in room 401 of Detroit's old Grace Hospital, Harry Houdini died of the peritonitis that followed the rupturing of his appendix, on this day in 1926.
Was Whitehead to blame?
However, the rupturing of his appendix was quite possibly not Whitehead’s fault. It was long assumed that the blows to his stomach and his ruptured appendix were related. This seemed a natural enough explanation at the time, even to his doctors, and this is how the legend began. However, we now know this explanation is incorrect: appendicitis is not caused by physical trauma. The abdominal blows received by Houdini might indeed have hastened his death, but not in the way usually imagined: he was probably already suffering from appendicitis at the time. The great magician might have explained his subsequent stomach pain as being caused by the punches he took rather than the pre-existing inflammation of his appendix. We may conjecture that because the dressing room incident occurred, Houdini might have not realized his pain was an indication of disease, and might have delayed two days before seeking medical treatment.
The greatest magician who ever lived is buried in Machpelah cemetary, Cypress Hills Street, Queens, New York City.
Images
Houdini posters
Copy of Houdini's Death Certificate
Houdini's Body Arrives at Grand Central Station, New York
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your publication, on application. Further details
Receive similar items free each day with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine. Send a blank email
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