On this day in 1874, magician Harry Houdini was born in Budapest, though he later claimed to have been born on April 6, 1874, in Appleton, Wisconsin. At the age of 9 he left Appleton, where his family had emigrated, for New York City, and began his career as an escape artist and magician. Did you know the famous magician Houdini performed one of his famous escapes in Madison's Capitol Square? Travel back in time with the Wisconsin Historical Museum and Wisconsin Historical Society and see how a

We know that escape artist Harry Houdini died on Halloween almost 100 years ago in 1926. But exactly how he me his demise still remains a mystery. | Biography