Welcome
The House of Houdini’s Research Unit aims to investigate, evaluate and reconstruct the life story of legendary illusionist and performer Harry Houdini. It is our great pleasure to initiate the very...
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Harry Houdini – Commencement
The following article appeared in the June 12, 1926, issue of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: The Editor answers that Houdini was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1874. Readers sat back thinking that they...
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Behind the Veil
In the December 1932 issue of Magie¹ (the monthly newspaper of the German Magicians’ Association) an interesting article by Ottokar Fischer appeared. He wrote about the May 1931 assembly of Hungarian...
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Birth Certificate of Harry Houdini
The easiest way to verify a date of birth is to use an official register of births. In Hungary a regulation issued on July 4, 1851, ordered standard birth registration for Jewish people. Prior to that...
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Who was Miksa Dick?
Harry Houdini’s birth certificate lists as godfather (kvater) a man named Miksa Dick, but who was this man? One thing I know is that he lived in Terézváros, in the 7th District of Budapest. Name Miksa...
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Investigating Houdini – a mystery name: RODOLFO
There is a handwritten page in The Houdini Birth Research Committee’s Report (HBRCR) which consists of a letter by John Henry Grossmann describing a visit he made to Budapest with his wife, Marya. They...
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March 24, 1874 – A Day In Budapest
It was a Tuesday. The citizens of Budapest awakened to a chilly morning. The weather center reported the temperature at 1.2 Celsius (34.16 in Fahrenheit) at 7 a.m. There was a light wind from the...
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1 Rákosárok street (Part 1)
The birth certificate, which was mentioned in my first article, contains the location of Houdini’s birth, which was registered at the time as 1 Rákosárok Street. After the metropolis of Budapest was...
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Walk around Rákos árok Street – where did the Weisz family live?
The roots of the Weisz family can be traced to Zala County in Western Hungary. Houdini’s father, Samuel Weisz, claimed that he was born in Nagykanizsa. At a date which is not known, he moved to Pest,...
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Birth Certificate of Ferencz Dezső Weisz
Let me tell a few words about Ferencz Dezso Weisz. He was the younger brother of Erik, known as Theo Hardeen the famous magician. Facts about his birth were found in the Register of Births of Pest...
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Robert-Houdin – Father of Modern Magic
One of the outstanding items in the House of Houdini’s collection is a first English edition volume of Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin’s The Secrets Of Conjuring & Magic, or How to Become a Wizard....
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Nagykanizsa – Early Years of Samuel Weisz
We cannot be grateful enough to the registrar who meticulously recorded every last detail regarding the birth of Ferenc Dezső Weisz, a.k.a. Dash. Besides mentioning all usual information, such as the...
View ArticleWelcome
The House of Houdini’s Research Unit aims to investigate, evaluate and reconstruct the life story of legendary illusionist and performer Harry Houdini. It is our great pleasure to initiate the very...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Harry Houdini – Commencement
The following article appeared in the June 12, 1926, issue of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: The Editor answers that Houdini was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1874. Readers sat back thinking that they...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Houdini and Vienna, Part 1 (1900)
In this month’s posts we would like to publish some interesting documents about Houdini’s visits in Eastern Europe, specifically to Vienna and Prague. Harry Houdini was scheduled to perform the first...
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Houdini and Prague (1901)
As we reported in our most recent post, Houdini came to Prague only once, in September 1901. He was contracted to perform there by Edward Tichy, the famous director of the Théater Varieté, known today...
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A Little Detour: Uncovering Joseph Velle
Our research team recently received a question from Ms. Vivianne Perret regarding Joseph Velle. Vivianne wanted to know the details of his life but was unable to find much information. To answer her...
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