In which country was the renound Magician Howdin born?

Answer 1

Its Houdini and not Howdin.
His real name was Ehrich Weiss, and he was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1874.

Answer 2

Where and when Houdini was born (and the correct spelling of his real name) has long been a topic which the magic community has "agreed to disagree". Because of the many inaccurate writings and/or typographical errors presented by so-called "Magic Historians", searching for the true facts has become a difficult task. I will present some of the more popular findings along with the sources of such information so you may decide for yourself.

According to "The Illustrated History Of Magic" (©1973 Milbourne Christopher - Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New York - page 339) the author states that Harry Houdini was born Ehrich Weiss (Erik Weisz) in Budapest (Hungary) on March 24th, 1874. He continues to explain that soon thereafter, the family migrated to America and settled into Appleton, Wisconsin. In later years Houdini claimed this as his birthplace, along with April 7th as his birthday. This was the date that his mother Cecilia Weiss had always celebrated the event. The author, Milbourne Christopher, was often regarded as one of magic's leading authorities for historical information within the magic community. The April 7th date, many believe, was meant to read April 6th and was nothing more than a typographical error.

In "Magic Digest" (©1972 George B. Anderson - Digest Books Inc., Illinois - page 263) the author explains in the few paragraphs devoted to Houdini that while he (Erich Weiss) wanted to believe he was born in Appleton, Wisconsin on April 6th, 1874, evidence indicates that he was actually born in Budapest, Hungary on March 25th, 1874. This author uses a different spelling for Houdini's first name, opting to remove the first "h" in Ehrich, thus spelling it Erich. He also states March 25th, 1874, instead of the more popular March 24th date. The "evidence" the author alludes to, supporting the March 25th date isn't mentioned in detail. Perhaps there were two typographical errors made here, or maybe the author was mistaken.

Within the pages of "The Great Houdini" (©1951 Beryl Williams and Samuel Epstein - Forward by Walter Gibson - Scholastic Book Services Inc., New York - page 15) the authors don't even allude to a foreign birth, saying only that the Weiss family arrived in the United States only a few months before Ehrich was born on April 6th, 1874. The book cover says "The life, and secrets, of the master magician" but in reality, it's written more as a fluffy novel with many exaggerated events and enhancements, some of which are doubted to have ever happened. Astonishingly, the forward was written by Walter Gibson, a once highly respected member of the magic community who was a very dear and close friend to Houdini. Sometimes the goal is to sell books and not provide an informative and factual account of the truth.

And in yet another publication, "Houdini: The Man Who Walked Through Walls" (©1959 William Lindsay Gresham - Henry Holt And Co., New York - page 9) we read information that prior to the invasion by the Nazis in World War II, a Hungarian magic enthusiast named Dr. Vilnos Lenard found synagogue records with an entry describing the birth of a son, Ehrich, to Mayer Samuel Weiss on March 24th, 1874. This 1959 book tells the reader "The records survived pillage, and examination of Dr. Lenard's discovery may finally settle the matter." This passage leads the reader to believe that as of 1959, the records had not yet been examined, even though they were obtained before the invasion by the Nazis (sometime before 1944). Mr. Gresham does not list Dr. Vilnos Lenard in the "Author's Acknowledgments" so we may assume here that the author did not examine these records either, thus not providing the reader with evidence of this date and location.

On page 185, Gresham offers a reprint of a letter dated November 22nd 1913 (four months after the passing of Houdini's beloved mother Cecilia). Houdini writes to his younger brother Theo, and states that his mother always wrote him on April 6th, and that will be his adopted birthday. The letter, at the time of the book being published, was part of the Sidney Radner Collection. In the "Author's Acknowledgments" (page viii) Mr. Radner is thanked for showing his collection. We assume here that the author saw the letter as part of the collection. Assuming the author recounted correctly, and the letter was geniune, this would be evidence of why Houdini claimed April 6th as his birthday. The letter however, does not offer any evidence as to Houdini's real date or place of birth.

This is a small glimpse into only four publications, all of which recount the places, dates, or name spellings differently. Most publications have leaned towards these variations, or some combination of them all. The most popular consensus of dates, places and name spellings seems to be that which is mentioned in our Houdini biography.