How did harry houdini get peritonitis?

Answer 1

Harry Houdini died in Detroit, Michigan on October 31st 1926 from peritonitis. He was 52 years. It has been speculated that Houdini was killed accidentally by a McGill University student, J. Gordon Whitehead, who delivered multiple blows to Houdini's abdomen (with permission) while he was in Montreal, in order to test Houdini's claim that he was able to take a blow to the body above the waist without injury. Houdini had apparently been suffering from appendicitis for several days prior and yet refused medical treatment. His appendix would likely have burst on its own without the trauma.