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Famous Historians.

34 PROFILES

34 celebrated historians who illuminated the past. Chroniclers and public intellectuals who shaped how we understand history.

Harry Houdini

Editor’s spotlight — updated daily

Harry Houdini

Hungary

Harry Houdini, born Erich Weiss in 1874, perfected the Challenge Act in 1898 and became the escape artist known worldwide. He debunked fraudulent mediums while hoping to contact his dead mother. The magician died of peritonitis in 1926 after a student punched him in the stomach, sparking annual Halloween séances led by his wife Bess.

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1730 1960