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T. Nelson Downs
Thomas Nelson Downs (March 16, 1867 – September 11, 1938) was a manipulative magicians known for his coin tricks. Downs was also known as "The King of Koins". Magic historian David Price has written that Downs "was the first of the great manipulative magicians and probably the greatest of them all." Biography Born in Marshalltown, Iowa, he was the youngest of six children in the family of Thomas and Cordelia Downs. His family moved to Iowa from the New York state. Downs' father, the Marshall county superintendent, died when his son was not even a year old. Downs never took any training in magic; all his tricks were self-taught. By the age of 12, he became an expert in card and coin manipulation. He further mastered his skills by the age of 17, when he took a job as a railway telegrapher and had plenty of time to practice with coins. In September 1895, Downs decided to quit his telegraphy job and launch a career in magic. At first, he toured Iowa with his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marshalltown, Iowa
Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at the 2020 census. Marshalltown is home to the Iowa Veterans Home and Marshalltown Community College. History Henry Anson was the first European settler in what is now called Marshalltown. In April 1851, Anson found what he described as “the prettiest place in Iowa.” On a high point between the Iowa River and Linn Creek, Anson built a log cabin. A plaque at 112 West Main Street marks the site of the cabin. In 1853 Anson named the town Marshall, after Marshall, Michigan, a former residence of his. The town became Marshalltown in 1862 because another Marshall already existed in Henry County, Iowa (In 1880, Marshall's name changed to Wayland). With the help of Potawatomi chief Johnny Green, Anson persuaded early settlers to stay in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chung Ling Soo
William Ellsworth Robinson (April 2, 1861 – March 24, 1918) was an American magician who went by the stage name Chung Ling Soo (). He is mostly remembered today for his accidental death due to a failed bullet catch trick. Early years Robinson was born in Westchester County, New York, the first of three children born to James Campbell Robinson and his wife Sarah Robinson (''née'' Titus). Both of his parents were of Scottish descent. The family settled in Manhattan while James Robinson toured in Charles "Charlie" White's minstrel shows. James Robinson variously performed under the names "James Campbell", "H. J. Campbell" and "Professor Campbell", and his specialties included impersonations, "dialect singing", hypnotism, ventriloquism and magic tricks. He later taught his son how to perform magic tricks. Career Robinson performed his first magic show at the age of 14 and began performing professionally on the vaudeville circuit shortly thereafter. He initially performed under t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Magicians
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1938 Deaths
Events January * January 1 ** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime. ** State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France ( SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Safinaz Zulficar, who becomes Queen Farida, in Cairo. * January 27 – The Honeymoon Bridge at Niagara Falls, New York, collapses as a result of an ice jam. February * February 4 ** Adolf Hitler abolishes the War Ministry and creates the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Armed Forces), giving him direct control of the German military. In addition, he dismisses political and military leaders considered unsympathetic to his philosophy or policies. General Werner von Fritsch is forced to resign as Commander of Chief of the German Army following accusations of homosexuality, and replaced by General Walther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1867 Births
Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed after its designer, John A. Roebling, in 1983. * January 8 – African-American men are granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia. * January 11 – Benito Juárez becomes Mexican president again. * January 30 – Emperor Kōmei of Japan dies suddenly, age 36, leaving his 14-year-old son to succeed as Emperor Meiji. * January 31 – Maronite nationalist leader Youssef Bey Karam leaves Lebanon aboard a French ship for Algeria. * February 3 – ''Shōgun'' Tokugawa Yoshinobu abdicates, and the late Emperor Kōmei's son, Prince Mutsuhito, becomes Emperor Meiji of Japan in a brief ceremony in Kyoto, ending the Late Tokugawa shogunate. * February 7 – West Virginia University is established in Morgantown, West Virginia. * Febru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riverside Cemetery (Marshalltown, Iowa)
Riverside Cemetery may refer to: United States * Riverside Cemetery (Riverside, California), the original name of the Evergreen Cemetery in Riverside, California * Riverside Cemetery (Denver, Colorado), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in Denver County * Riverside Cemetery (Waterbury, Connecticut), listed on the NRHP in New Haven County * Riverside Cemetery (Macon, Georgia), listed on the NRHP in Bibb County * Riverside Cemetery (Moline, Illinois) * Riverside Cemetery (Hopkinsville, Kentucky), home of Edgar Cayce's grave site * Riverside Cemetery (Lewiston, Maine) * Riverside Cemetery (Fort Fairfield, Maine) * Riverside Cemetery (Yarmouth, Maine) * Riverside Cemetery (Fairhaven, Massachusetts) * Riverside Cemetery (Saddle Brook, New Jersey) * Riverside Cemetery (Toms River, New Jersey) * Riverside Cemetery (Apalachin, New York), listed on the NRHP in Tioga County * Riverside Cemetery (Endicott, New York), listed on the NRHP in Broome County * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Handcuffs
Handcuffs are Physical restraint, restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a Link chain, chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet (device), ratchet that prevents it from being opened once closed around a person's wrist. Without the key, the handcuffs cannot be removed without specialist knowledge, and the handcuffed person cannot move their wrists more than a few centimetres or inches apart, making many tasks difficult or impossible. Handcuffs are frequently used by law enforcement agencies worldwide to prevent Suspect, suspected criminals from escaping from Arrest, police custody. Styles Metal handcuffs There are three main types of contemporary metal handcuffs: chain (cuffs are held together by a short chain), hinged (since hinged handcuffs permit less movement than a chain cuff, they are generally considered to be more secure), and ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) became most known as a social religious movement according to which the laws of nature and of God include "the continuity of consciousness after the transition of death" and "the possibility of communication between those living on Earth and those who have made the transition". The afterlife, or the " spirit world", is seen by spiritualists not as a static place, but as one in which spirits continue to evolve. These two beliefs—that contact with spirits is possible, and that spirits are more advanced than humans—lead spiritualists to a third belief: that spirits are capable of providing useful insight regarding moral and ethical issues, as well as about the nature of God. Some spiritualists will speak of a concept which they refer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Silverman
Kenneth Eugene Silverman (February 5, 1936 – July 7, 2017) was an American biographer and educator. He won a Pulitzer Prize and a Bancroft Prize for his 1984 biography of Cotton Mather, ''The Life and Times of Cotton Mather''. Silverman, who specialized in Colonial American literature, was a professor of English at New York University until his retirement in 2001. Biography Silverman was born February 5, 1936, in Manhattan. He was educated at Stuyvesant High School and Columbia University, where he received B.A. (1956), M.A. (1958) and Ph.D. (1964) degrees in English. Silverman was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition to the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prizes, he won an Edgar Award of the Mystery Writers of America for his 1991 biography of Edgar Allan Poe and the Christopher Literary Award of the Society of American Magicians for his work on Harry Houdini. Silverman died of lung cancer in Manhattan on July 7, 2017. Books * As Editor, ''Colonial Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician Robert-Houdin (1805–1871). He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as "Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's ''Daily Mirror'', keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini prese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dai Vernon
Dai Vernon (pronounced alternatively as "DIE" or as "DAY" as in David; June 11, 1894 – August 21, 1992), a.k.a. The Professor, was a Canadian magician. His sleight of hand technique and knowledge, particularly with card tricks and close-up magic, garnered him respect among fellow magicians, and he was a mentor to other magicians. He lived out his last years at Magic Castle, a nightclub in Hollywood, California. Biography Vernon was born in Ottawa as David Frederick Wingfield Verner. While performing, he often mentioned that he had learned his first trick from his father at age seven, adding wryly that he had "wasted the first 6 years" of his life. His father was a government worker and an amateur magician. Vernon studied mechanical engineering at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, but by World War I he had moved to New York City. Vernon first fell in love with magic when he was seven years old after his father took him to see a magic show. The fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miser's Dream
Miser's Dream is a magic routine where the magician produces coins from the air (and often other places) and drops them into a receptacle they are holding, usually a metal bucket. It has also been called "Aerial Treasury". It was invented in the 19th century and popularized by T. Nelson Downs circa 1895. The trick is considered a crowd-pleaser, with an easy to follow plot based on a common desire. Its secret method usually involves palming. Selected Performers * Al Flosso * Jeff McBride * Penn & Teller (variation producing coins from a fish tank) * Robert-Houdin * T. Nelson Downs (using a hat) See also * Coin snatching Coin snatching, often nicknamed the Chinese elbow trick, consists of a simple illusion in which a coin is placed on the elbow, the hand of the same arm is placed on the arm's shoulder, and the hand is swung forward to catch the coin. The trick can ... References Coin magic {{Magic-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
