The Life Of Louis Armstrong

By Matthew021904

  • Louis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana

    Louis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to his parents William, and Mary Albert Armstrong he had a younger sister named Beatrice Armstrong Collins.

  • Louis' dad abandoned his family

    Louis' dad abandoned his family and Louis' mom left the children with their grandmother, Josephine Armstrong and their Uncle Isaac.

  • Louis moved back in with his mom

    Louis moved back in with his mom, and attended the Fisk school for boys

  • Louis dropped out of school and started to earn a small living singing on the streets of New Orleans with a quartet.

    Louis dropped out of school and started to earn a small living singing on the streets of New Orleans with a quartet. A musician named Joe "King" Oliver taught Louis to play the cornet.

  • Louis bought his first cornet

    Louis bought his first cornet with money loaned to him by the Karnofskys who were a Russian-Jewish immigrant family who had taken Louis into their family.

  • Louis was sent to Colored Waifs home for general delinquency

    Louis was sent to Colored Waifs home for general delinquency where he continued to play the cornet with lessons from Professor Peter Davis.

  • Louis was released from the Colored Waifs and went home to his mother and step-father.

    Louis was released from the Colored Waifs and went home to his mother and step-father. He worked as a coalman during the day and at night he played in a dance hall job at Henry Ponce's where Black Benny became his mentor.

  • He played with brass bands on riverboats and steamboats in New Orleans

  • Louis played with the King Ory band (a hot jazz group)

  • Louis married Daisy Parker

    Louis married Daisy Parker and they adopted a 3-year-old mentally disabled boy named Clarence Armstrong who was the son of Louis's cousin Flora who died after giving birth.

  • Louis became second trumpet for the Tuxedo Brass Band

    The Tuxedo Brass Band was a society band.

  • Louis learned to read music

  • Louis joined the jazz band Creole Jazz Band in Chicago.

    Louis joined the jazz band Creole Jazz Band in Chicago playing with his friend Bix Beiderbecke and others.

  • Louis had a divorce with Daisy Parker.

  • Louis joined Fletcher Henderson band in Harlem.

  • Louis married Lillian Hardin

  • Louis made a band called the Hot Five

    Louis made a band called the Hot Five for recording purposes only and cut his first records for Okeh (record label company). He continued playing in other bands

  • He formed his own band called Louis Armstrong and the Stompers.

  • Louis moved to Los Angeles and played at the New Cotton Club in LA where he first met Bing Crosby

  • Armstrong appeared in his first movie called Ex-Flame.

    During this year Armstrong was found guilty of marijuana possession but was only put on probation. He also had problems with the mob and first moved back to New Orleans but then left the country for Europe.

  • He appeared in the movie Pennies from Heaven with Bing Crosby

  • Louis became the first black to host a sponsored, national radio broadcast.

  • Louis had a divorce with Lillian Hardin

  • Louis married Alpha Smith

  • Louis had a divorce with Alpha Smith

  • Louis married Lucille Wilson

  • Louis and Lucille moved into a house in Queens that later became a museum

    He also made the movies Cabin In the Sky and The Five Pennies.

  • Louis reached Top Ten of the LP charts with Satchmo at Symphony Hall

  • Louis played at a concert which had 100,000 fans attend

    He played at a concert celebrating Ghana's independence which was attended by more than 100,000 Louis Armstrong fans

  • Louis spoke out against racial discrimination

    Louis spoke out against racial discrimination publicly condemned the violence in Little Rock over school integration.

  • Louis was hospitalized briefly for a heart attack

  • He recorded his last hit, "What a Wonderful World"

  • Louis appeared in the movie Hello Dolly. His rendition of the song Hello Dolly won him a Grammy for best vocal performance

    His performance of the song Hello Dolly won him a Grammy for best vocal performance.

  • Louis died as result of a heart attack

  • Louis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

    Louis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "early influence"

  • The city of New Orleans renamed its airport as the Louis Armstrong International Airport