J. Gordon Whitehead

J. Gordon Whitehead
Born	25 November 1895 United States
💀Died	5 July 1954 (age 58) Montreal, Canada5 July 1954 (age 58)
Cause of death	Unknown
Resting place	Hawthorn-Dale Cemetery, Montreal, Canada
💼 Occupation

Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead (25 November 1895 - 5 July 1954) was an American shoplifter. He is best known for punching Harry Houdini on 22 October 1926. This resulted in, contributed to, or covered up Houdini's appendicitis that would end his life.

Born in 1895, Whitehead enrolled in McGill University in the early 1920s and proved himself to be an excellent boxer. His fame grew, as on 22 October 1926, he sucker-punched Harry Houdini, the greatest magician of the time, repeatedly in the abdomen. Since Houdini had appendicitis before Whitehead punched him, this either started, contributed to, or covered up Houdini's cause of death. After this incident, Whitehead vanished from the public view and in 1928, was charged with shoplifting books twice. This started Whitehead's illegal career as a shoplifter. Whitehead died in 1954.

Biography

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 skills too far. On 22 October 1926, Harry Houdini was performing on stage with appendicitis. Whitehead and several other students went onto the stage, and Whitehead asked Houdini if he could handle a punch to the chest. Houdini, although unwell, said he could handle a punch to the chest. Following this, Whitehead sucker-punched Houdini repeatedly in his abdomen. Since Houdini was not feeling well in that area, he collapsed, but continued performing that day, and the next. Houdini fainted on stage, however, on 24 October. He died that Halloween. Whitehead, meanwhile, vanished from the public view, and in 1928, was charged with shoplifting books twice. This began Whitehead's untimely career as a shoplifter. During World War II, he was allegedly reported to have committed dozens of shoplifting crimes across the U.S. Whitehead ended his shoplifting career during the early 1950s, and he was photographed reading a book at Rodrick's Bookstore in Montreal, Canada, in c. 1950. This sparked theories that Whitehead also committed shoplifting crimes in Canada, as well as the U.S. On 5 July 1954, Whitehead died of natural causes as a recluse and a hoarder, at the age of 58. He is buried in Hawthorn-Dale Cemetery in Montreal, Canada.

Conspiracy theories

Houdini defied the idea that talking to spirits was real. This possibly led to the alleged conspiracy to kill Houdini.

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. Whitehead was possibly chosen to end Houdini's life, but the only role people know he played was punching Houdini in the abdomen. Another theory is that Whitehead actually developed the plot himself, and that there was nobody supporting his plan. This theory has largely been accepted by historians, who believe the punches either started, contributed to, or covered up Houdini's death. However, these theories are still debated upon now, despite new evidence popping up from time to time.

Legacy

He is known for being the one who killed Houdini, despite evidence that Houdini died from his appendicitis. He is also known for being one of America's most notorious shoplifters of all time.

Other pages

• Harry Houdini
• Harry Houdini#Death

External links

• https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2012/01/this-is-j-gordon-whitehead.html
• Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead at Find a Grave

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