Harry Houdini, the famed illusionist and escape artist, died on October 31, 1926, from peritonitis, a severe inflammation of the abdominal lining, which was caused by a ruptured appendix. He was 52 years old.
The circumstances of his death are famously linked to an incident that occurred several days earlier. While backstage after a performance in Montreal, a McGill University student named J. Gordon Whitehead visited Houdini in his dressing room. The student, having heard that Houdini could withstand powerful blows to the stomach, asked if it was true.
Houdini, who was resting on a couch at the time and had not had a chance to prepare, assented. The student then reportedly delivered several unexpected and forceful punches to his abdomen. Houdini, in pain, was unable to brace himself. He performed his last few shows in Montreal before traveling to Detroit, where his condition worsened.
Despite a doctor diagnosing acute appendicitis and advising immediate hospitalization, Houdini insisted on performing his final show at the Garrick Theater in Detroit. He struggled through the performance and collapsed afterward. He was then admitted to Grace Hospital, where doctors discovered his appendix had ruptured days earlier, and the infection had spread. Although he underwent surgery, the peritonitis was too advanced, and he died a week later.
While the "punch" is a well-known part of the story, there has been a long-standing debate among medical professionals and historians about whether the blows directly caused the ruptured appendix or if they simply aggravated an existing condition and caused Houdini to ignore the pain until it was too late. At the time, his insurance company paid out a double indemnity for accidental death, as the doctors believed the punches were the cause. Modern medical opinion, however, suggests a causal link between blunt force trauma and appendicitis is extremely rare. Regardless of the exact medical cause, the incident is widely believed to have played a role in the chain of events that led to his untimely death.