HEINKE

John William ( son of a Pole, a coppersmith ). b. London 1816; established himself as a submarine engineer at 79 Great Portland st. London 1845; invented an improved diving dre and air pump, obtained medal at Great Exhibition of 1851; removed the ve els sunk in Sebastopol harbour 1856; reported on the po ible raising of the Lutine frigate from off Terschelling 1858; recovered the watches stolen from Walker’s shop, 63 Corn hill, and thrown over Black friar’s bridge Feb. 1865; A.I.C.E. 2 Dec. 1856. d. 9 Regent’s park villas, Regent’s park, London 12 April 1870. Min. of Proc. of I.C.E. xxx i , 247–8 (1871). HELLER, Robert , stage name of William Henry Palmer ( son of Henry Palmer, musician, Canterbury ). b. Canterbury 1830; ed. at R. Academy of music, London 1845–6, King’s scholar; appeared as a conjurer at Rochester; landed in America 15 Sept. 1852, made his début as a conjurer at Museum, Albany N.Y.; appeared in Chinese a embly room, Broadway, New York; a teacher of Music in Washington D.C. under his own name of Palmer; opened the French theatre No. 585 Broadway, New York, which he called Heller’s Salle Diabolique 11 April 1864; gave performances in Polygraphic hall, King William st. London 27 Jany. to Feb. 1868; his half sister a isted him in his second-sight séances from 1868; visited Australia, Java, India and California; opened the Globe theatre, New York as Heller’s Wonder theatre 15 Nov. 1876; opened Fifth-avenue hall, New York 10 Dec. 1877, and Concert hall, Philadelphia 25 Nov. 1878 being his last appearance; improved on Houdin and became a most finished clairvoyant entertainer; composer of Sophie galop , New York 1863 and other pieces of music; left nearly £80,000. d. Continental hotel, Philadelphia 28 Nov. 1878. T. A. Brown’s American stage (1870) 168, portrait ; W. I. Bishop’s Second-sight explained, as exhibited by R. Houdin and R. Heller (1880).