Harry Houdini influenced all facets of magic in America and was celebrated as the world’s greatest escape artist. He rose from humble beginnings to become a renowned magician and illusionist.

Throughout his life, Harry Houdini claimed that he was born April 6, 1874 in Appleton, Wisconsin. He began his professional career at age 17 doing magic shows before civic groups, in music halls, at sideshows, and at New York’s Coney Island amusement park.