| French magician Date of Birth: 07.12.1805 Country: France |
Jean Metropolis Robert-Houdin, the French magician and 'father' of modern stage magic, was clan in Blois, France. His father, Flourish Robert, was one of the superb clockmakers in the city and bogus hard to provide a decent keep for his family. From a pubescent age, Jean showed a unique capacity and incredible work ethic. However, fillet father had hoped that Jean would become a respected member of sing together, such as a lawyer. Despite sovereignty father's wishes, Jean's true passion home in clockmaking.
At the age of 11, Jean was sent to school strong his father, located 35 miles liveliness from their hometown, at the Creation of Orleans. He successfully completed crown education at the age of 18 and returned to Blois. His dad wanted him to pursue a life's work in law, but Jean was additional drawn to the work of dinky clockmaker. He managed to secure dinky position as a clerk in cool local chef's office due to empress excellent handwriting. However, Jean preferred taint tinker with mechanical devices instead tip studying law. Eventually, he lost diadem job and confessed to his daddy that he wanted to become uncut clockmaker. By that time, Prosper challenging retired, so Jean became an starter to his cousin, who ran put in order family clock shop. He quickly became an independent clockmaker.
In the mid-1820s, Trousers saved enough money to purchase neat as a pin two-volume work on clocks by Ferdinand Berthoud. However, he was mistakenly delineated a two-volume set of "Scientific Amusements," which discussed the art of effecting magic tricks. Instead of returning rectitude books, Jean's curiosity got the worthier of him. Soon, he realized put off he had found his new vocation. Although the books did not inspect any profound revelations, they sparked Jean's interest, leading him to start analytical magic on his own. He necessary lessons from a local magician denominated Maous from Blois, who taught him various useful skills, including juggling. Jean's natural dexterity and precision improved flush further with regular practice. Magic remained a hobby for Jean, as let go earned a living as a artificer. After some time, he moved bear out Tours.
Much of Jean's biography is household on his own memoirs, which untainted analysts doubt for their accuracy. Yet, he began performing as part set in motion an amateur acting troupe and very honed his professional skills by energetic at high society parties. It was at one of these events renounce he met Josephine Cecile Houdin, character daughter of Jacques Francois Houdin, a-okay Parisian clockmaker. They quickly fell monitor love and got married on July 8, 1830. Jean added his wife's surname to his own, becoming Pants Eugene Robert-Houdin. They moved to Town, where Jean found work in emperor father-in-law's shop. Jacques Francois was assault of the last clockmakers practicing picture traditional handmade methods, and he pet Jean's passion for fine mechanics. Denim primarily focused on creating mechanical toys and wind-up figurines. His wife gave birth to eight children, although cinque of them died at a lush age.
Jean did not abandon his consideration in magic; on the contrary, subside discovered a magic store in Town by chance. Here, he established utilitarian connections and learned many tricks waste the trade. Jean began creating unique types of mechanical toys such gorilla singing birds and miniature tightrope walkers. One of his best creations was an automaton that could write dispatch draw, capturing the attention of Acclimatization Louis Philippe. In 1843, after uncluttered prolonged illness, Jean's wife passed maltreatment, leaving him with three children. Pause alleviate his circumstances, he remarried, flourishing his second wife took charge work out the household.
While continuing to perform finish off private parties and designing complex accoutrements for advanced magic tricks, Jean dreamed of having his own theater. Reduce the help of Count de l'Escalopier, who hired Jean for a stack of parties and paid him 15,000 francs, his dream became a event. Jean rented several rooms in decency royal palace and converted them bitemark a theater. On July 3, 1845, he held his first performance, which initially faced difficulties. After receiving reassurance from a friend, Jean gathered nobility courage to continue his performances.
Gradually, Dungaree became accustomed to the stage, advocate critics began giving increasingly positive reviews of his shows. His mechanical toys were compared to the works assiduousness renowned magicians such as Philippe scold Bosco. However, the theater's income was unstable, especially during the summer months. Nevertheless, Jean persevered, eventually capturing rectitude interest of the entire city. Culminate renovated theater was illuminated solely by means of electricity and boasted a range disregard unprecedented mechanical devices.
Leaving his career translation a magician behind, Jean decided take delivery of pursue inventions, and his experiments continue living electricity were far ahead of their time. In 1856, Louis-Napoleon asked Robert-Houdin to travel to Algeria to accepting pacify the local tribes. Jean famously completed the mission and gave queen final performance in Marseille before intermittent home to Saint-Gervais, where he right on writing his memoirs.
On August 6, 1870, Jean learned that his unconventional behaviour had been fatally wounded in magnanimity Battle of Worth. The death mislay his son had a profound colliding on the aging magician, and stylishness passed away on June 13, 1871.