Google Doodles features 137th Birthday of Harry Houdini Today

While on my way home, I was thinking of searching for some really cute Korean outfit in the net. So, as I got home, I turned on my laptop and open the Firefox window and went to Google home page. Then I noticed that Google used a Google Doodles — a special logo of Google that is usually used to celebrate birthdays, special events and holidays.


Since Google is using their Doodles today that means that they’re featuring someone. I don’t know who was that person is, and so I pointed the cursor of my mouse on the logo and a caption shows and states that it’s Harry Houdini’s 137^th Birthday. So, I decided to feature him here in my blog.

I honestly don’t know him. So in order for me to be able to say something about him, I researched it on the net and found some really interesting facts about this man.

 

Harry Houdini is a Hungarian-born American and was born under the name of Erich Weisz on March 24, 1874. He is the son of Mayer Samuel Weisz (a religious teacher), and Cecilia Steiner. His mother is just actually the second wife of his father. Although he claimed in his entire life that he was born in Appleton, Wisconsin on April 6, 1874; truth is that he was born in Budapest, Hungary on the date I’ve mentioned above.

He came from a Jewish family and yet ran away from them in 1886 because of some family scandal. His brother, Nathan got married to Sadie and later on got divorce. Two weeks after, his brother’s former wife married again and this time to his other brother, Leopold. And then he adds another scandal by marrying a woman which is out of their religion. He married his wife Wilhelmina “Bess” Rahner, who is a Catholic. They didn’t have any child due to his frequent x-ray exams, which causes his sterilization.

 

He was 17 then, when he ran away from his family and he pursue on his magic career. He is a very well known magician and escapologist/escape artist. He really perfectly escapes on things/situations that are so freakin’ really impossible for anyone to escape from. He was also an actor, stunt performer and film producer.

He died at the age of 52 on a Halloween (October 31, 1926) at Room 401 in Detroit’s Grace Hospital, Michigan due to appendicitis. Some thought or claimed that he died in his performance because he passed out after J. Gordon Whitehead punched him in the stomach just to test his claim that he can withstand any blows in his body. But truth is Harry Houdini is already suffering from appendicitis few days before his last performance. He was just too plain stubborn for refusing to seek any medical treatment and continue performing, instead. So, when J. Gordon Whitehead repeatedly punched him in his stomach, it seems that it worsened his appendicitis conditions and led to his death.

According to his brother, before he died his last words were, “I’m tired of fighting.”

Posted in: Actor,Birthday,Blogging,Escape Artist,Escapologist,Google Doodles,Magician,Personal Blog,Simple things in mind,Stunt Performer