Ehrich Weiss was born on March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. In 1891, he became a professional magician, working under the name Harry Houdini -- he chose this name as a tribute to Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, a French magician he admired. In 1913, Ehrich legally changed his name to Houdini. Initially focusing on bird acts, Houdini's magic career met with little success. But when he began experimenting with escape acts, he soon found himself performing in the top vaudeville houses in the country. With acts such as his famous straitjacket escape (for which he always dislocated both of his shoulders), Harry Houdini would go on to become one of the most famous magicians of all time.