| Why/When Harpo Changed His Name From Adolph To Arthur |
| Sometime shortly before World War I, while in his 20s, Adolph Marx had quickly been nicknamed "Ahdie," (so his name would not sound so German, since German-sounding names and products were frowned upon in America at the time) a name he much preferred to "Adolph" -- so much so that he eventually adopted the name "Arthur" in place of his given name. When, exactly, Adolph became Arthur is difficult to pin down, but the change seems to have been effected by 1911, and he was identified as "Arthur" in newspaper reviews of Marx Brothers performances as early as 1913, long before the world had heard of an Austrian named Adolph Hitler, well before the outbreak of World War I, and even a few years before that momentous day when he was tagged with the moniker of "Harpo." |
| The Brothers' Birth Dates: Leonard (Chico) March 21, 1887 Adolph (Harpo) November 23, 1888 Julius (Groucho) October 2, 1890 Milton (Gummo) October 23, 1892 Herbert (Zeppo) February 25, 1901 |
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