Jean Eugène Robert Houdin

Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin

(born Dec. 6, 1805, Blois, France — died June 13, 1871, St. Gervais, near Blois) French magician, considered the father of modern conjuring. Trained as a watchmaker, he became a magician at the Palais-Royal (1845 – 55), performing on a bare stage in evening dress rather than the usual wizardlike costume. He used familiar objects to create his illusions, then gave a plausible explanation of the technical procedures involved. Robert-Houdin was the first magician to use electricity, and he exposed magicians who relied on supernatural explanations for their feats. In 1856 he was sent to Algeria by the French government to counter the influence of the dervishes, who were encouraging rebellion against French forces, by duplicating their feats.

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Jean Eugène Robert Houdin

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Houdin, Jean Eugène Robert or Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (zhäN özhĕn' rōbĕr' ūdăN'), 1805-71, French conjurer and magician. Originally a clockmaker, he was celebrated for his optical illusions and mechanical devices and for his attributing his "magic" to natural instead of supernatural means. Houdin was the first to use electromagnetism for his effects. He wrote an autobiography (1857) and Secrets of Prestidigitation and Magic (1868). Harry Houdini, who named himself for Houdin, wrote The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin (1908).

Bibliography

See H. R. Evans, The Master of Modern Magic (1932).

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		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
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