Which magician died in a water tank

Other acts featured Houdini being hung from a skyscraper in a straitjacket, or bound and buried—without a coffin—under six feet of dirt. In his later years, Houdini campaigned against mediums, mind readers, fakirs, and others who claimed supernatural talents but depended on tricks. At the same time, he was deeply interested in spiritualism and made a pact with his wife and friends that the first to die was to try and communicate with the world of reality from the spirit world.

Several of these friends died, but Houdini never received a sign from them. Then, on Halloween , Houdini himself passed on at the age of But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! On October 31, , legend has it that the priest and scholar Martin Luther approaches the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and nails a piece of paper to it containing the 95 revolutionary opinions that would begin the Protestant Reformation.

In his theses, Congress quickly admits Nevada as the 36th state in the Union. In , Nevada had only 40, inhabitants, considerably short of the In the autumn of , Beatlemania was a raging epidemic in Britain, and it was rapidly spreading across the European continent.

At the time of his death, Phoenix was considered one of the most promising actors of his Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Magicians and stunt performers have long done tricks in which they escape from drowning in tanks of water or other containers.

Such stunts generally use chains, ropes or straitjackets to constrain the escape artist as a crowd watches on the edge of their seats. If all goes as planned, the performer escapes from their constraints and proudly pushes their way out of the tank. Legendary magician Hungarian-born American illusionist Harry Houdini, who died in , greatly popularized such escape performances. In one of his most famous acts, the performer would be handcuffed and stuffed inside a large milk can filled with water.

The performance was billed with the ominous message: "Failure Means a Drowning Death. Earlier this year, escape artist Matt Johnson enthralled and terrified audiences of Britain's Got Talent with a series of "drowning stunts. Houdini was still not keen on the idea, but after consulting with his personal physician, Dr.

William Stone, over the phone, he finally gave in an agreed to go to Grace Hospital in Detroit to have an emergency appendectomy. Once at the hospital, it was established that Houdini had peritonitis due to a ruptured appendix. At the time, it was speculated that the aforementioned blows to his abdomen may have been the cause of his appendicitis. In the era before antibiotics, the secondary infection caused by a ruptured appendix was almost always fatal, so it was critical to get the appendix out before this happened.

Thus, the theory goes that had Houdini not been punched, he might have sought medical attention sooner. However, this seems doubtful given that even as his condition worsened to life threatening levels, he still refused to heed the physicians who looked him over. Harry Houdini held on for about a week at Grace Hospital, but finally succumbed on October 31, He was 52 years old.

Pretty much ever since, various purveyors of the paranormal have attempted to do the same on Halloween, but with just as little luck. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.