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Jan 11, 2012 · Learn about Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead, the McGill University student who delivered the blows that may have triggered Houdini's death in 1926. See his only known photo and read comments from Houdini fans and historians.
- Biography
- Conspiracy Theories
- Legacy
- External Links
Whitehead was born on 25 November 1895 in the United States. His early years, and his parents, are unknown. He entered McGill University in the early 1920s and soon proved himself to be a good student and boxer. He was reported to always have bets on other people to fight him, but he allegedly always won. However, he would soon take his boxing skil...
There are many conspiracy theories surrounding why Whitehead punched Houdini. The first theory is that it was a plot initiated by spiritualists. Houdini, during his life, was never a spiritualist, as he had known that the practice was a fraud. This allegedly angered many in the spiritualist movement, and they developed a plot to poison Houdini. Whi...
He is known for being the killer of Houdini, despite evidence that Houdini died instead of his appendicitis. He is also known for being one of America's most notorious shoplifters of all time.
Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead at Find a GraveLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 23: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).- United States
- November 25, 1895
Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead. Folk Figure. A student, as well as a boxer, at the McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec, he gained fame as the man who sucker-punched magician Harry Houdini. On October 22, 1926, he walked up to the distracted Houdini, said something, and then punched the magician in the stomach as he was laying down.
- England
- November 25, 1895
Mar 11, 2020 · J. Gordon Whitehead was a McGill student who wanted to test Houdini's stomach strength in 1926. He died of appendicitis after a week, but the cause of death was not related to the punch. Learn more about Houdini's life and legacy in this Yale University Press book.
Mar 22, 2024 · Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead was a student who punched Harry Houdini in the stomach before his appendix ruptured and killed him in 1926. Learn about the magician's death-defying career, the mysterious incident, and the controversy over his last words.
Learn about Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead, the McGill University student who punched Houdini in 1926 and may have triggered his fatal appendicitis. Find out his life story, his photo, and the myths and facts about the incident.
Oct 31, 2011 · Houdini died on Halloween of 1926 after a student named Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead punched him in the stomach at McGill University. The blow ruptured his appendix and caused peritonitis, despite his famous ability to escape from anything.
