© Getty Images 

Harry Houdini's real name was Ehrich Weiss -

Houdini's real name was Ehrich Weiss. He is believed to have taken the first part of his stage name from his childhood nickname, "Ehrie," which sounds like Harry.

© Getty Images 

He named himself after another famous magician -

His second pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805–1871).

© Getty Images 

Origins -

Born in Budapest in 1874, Houdini initially gained recognition for traveling around Europe and challenging police forces to try locking him up.

© Getty Images 

Prison van escape -

In Moscow, he once escaped from a prison transport van. He claimed that if he couldn't free himself, he would have had to travel all the way to Siberia because that's where the key was.

© Getty Images 

He once sued a police officer -

Houdini once sued a police officer in Cologne, Germany, because the officer accused him of making his escapes via bribery. Houdini won the case when he opened the judge's safe. However, he later admitted that the judge had forgotten to lock it.

© Getty Images 

Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini -

In 1918, he registered for the US Selective Service as Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini. It indicated that he worked as an actor.

© Getty Images 

His first job in the US -

Known for being an escape artist, magician, and stunt performer, Houdini's first job in the US was as a trapeze artist.

© Getty Images 

His brother was also a successful magician -

Houdini eventually brought over his younger brother Theodore Hardeen to the US. Theodore soon began performing his brother’s tricks, and the pair even created a fake rivalry to help boost their profiles.

© Public Domain

He was a Freemason -

Raised in a Jewish family, Houdini often downplayed his heritage due to anti-Semitism. He became a Freemason later in life.

© Getty Images 

Harry Houdini named Buster Keaton -

Houdini named the famous performer Buster Keaton (1895-1966). A friend of the Keaton family, Houdini witnessed little Keaton fall down the stairs and commented, "That was quite a buster!"

© Getty Images 

Some escapes were marketing stunts -

For example, brewers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, challenged him to escape from their barrels after they had been filled with beer.

© Getty Images 

Leaving behind the handcuffs -

Houdini left behind his initial act, escaping from handcuffs, due to the fact that so many people tried to imitate him.

© Getty Images 

He invented the Chinese Water Torture Cell -

Houdini invented the Chinese Water Torture Cell. In this trick, he escaped from a water chamber while being suspended upside down from its ceiling.

© Public Domain

Not as difficult as it looked -

Houdini once explained that many locks and handcuffs could be opened with little more than properly applied force, or a simple tool like a shoestring.

© Getty Images 

Reveling his secret -

In his book 'Handcuff Secrets' (1909), Houdini admitted to carrying lock picks and keys during his performances.

© Getty Images 

Vaudeville performer -

For many years, Houdini was a headlining vaudeville act. He was even the highest paid vaudeville performer ever.

© Getty Images 

The elephant trick -

Houdini's most notable non-escape illusion was making a full-grown elephant disappear from the stage at the New York Hippodrome. This trick took place on January 7, 1918.

© Public Domain

The straitjacket escape -

One of his most popular stunts was the suspended straitjacket escape. Basically Houdini would have himself strapped into a straitjacket and suspended from either a skyscraper or a crane.

© Getty Images 

He invented the famous milk can trick -

During his famous milk can escape, he invited the audience to hold their breaths along with him to heighten the effect. The milk can would be filled with water instead of actual milk though.

© Getty Images 

Magic was his cause -

While serving as president of the Society of American Magicians, Houdini sought to create a large international network in order to help prevent magic theft.

© Getty Images 

Houdini assisted with the American war effort during WWI -

Although he was born in Hungary, Houdini was an American patriot. He even persuaded the Society of American Magicians to sign loyalty oaths to President Woodrow Wilson. He also canceled his touring season to devote himself to entertaining soldiers and raise money for the war effort.

© Getty Images 

Houdini's first "buried alive" stunt almost cost him his life -

Houdini became so exhausted while digging that he panicked. He tried crying for help, and just managed to break the surface with his hand as he passed out.

© Getty Images 

Houdini once staged an escape from inside a "sea monster" -

In 1911, a group of Boston businessmen challenged Houdini to escape from the belly of a "sea monster." Historians still aren’t sure what the creature actually was, whether a whale or a leatherback turtle. Houdini was up for the task and entered handcuffed into the carcass. He managed to get out in 15 minutes.

© Getty Images 

He was an aviation pioneer -

Houdini had a passion for aviation. In 1910, he became the second person to ever fly an airplane in Australia, after Londoner Colin Defries.

© Getty Images 

He owned his own movie studio -

Houdini had a brief career as a silent film actor. However, his movies didn't do well at the box office. Having lost a large chunk of his personal fortune, Houdini quit the movie business for good in 1923.

© Getty Images 

Houdini debunked psychics and the supernatural -

Houdini had little patience for anyone who claimed to have supernatural powers, and he enjoyed exposing mediums and psychics. In fact, his last show was titled "Three Shows in One: Magic, Escapes, and Fraud Mediums Exposed."

© Getty Images 

The cause of his death is still debated -

Houdini died on Halloween 1926 at the age of 52. The official cause of his death was peritonitis brought on by a ruptured appendix. However, there are several versions of what actually happened. Some even claim he was poisoned by spiritualists, who were angry about him debunking mediums.

© Getty Images 

The symbol of the Society of American Magicians is engraved on his tombstone -

As the president of the Society of American Magicians, Houdini got the society's symbol engraved on his tombstone. It's located at the Machpelah Cemetery in Queens, New York.

© Getty Images 

His wife held a séance every year for 10 years on the anniversary of his death to see if he would get in touch -

Before Houdini died, he and his wife Bess made a pact that if there was a way to do it, he would contact her from the beyond. When he failed to contact her on the 10th anniversary, she gave up. However, the Houdini Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, still holds the séance every year.

Sources: (History) (Mental Floss) 

See also: Ectoplasm and the bizarre world of spiritualists

© Getty Images