Fun with Maps ISSUE 2025-121

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (August 4, 2025) – In today’s edition of Fun with Maps, we celebrate his trumpet, his voice and his birthday with jazz…   

SATCHMO

Louis Daniel Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He is considered to be the most influential person in the rise of American jazz, with a career lasting over fifty years.  His trumpet playing and gravelly vocals were instantly recognizable, his style being the spearhead of solo improvisation in jazz performances.

Although Armstrong started out as a band member, his career quickly moved into solo engagements. 

Known for his music, he became an even broader entertainer, often playing himself in movies and on television, and had a good comedic sense too.  He was one of the first Black entertainers to cross racial lines and appeal to white and international audiences.

Among his best-known melodies are his rendition of Hello, Dolly and What a Wonderful World, songs where he both plays the trumpet and sings.

A two-day Satchmo Summerfest took place over the weekend at the New Orleans Jazz Museum in honor of his birthday, and the countdown is on for the 125th anniversary celebration next year!

Myra Barnes’s 1942 pictorial map of New Orleans’s French Quarter is presented here.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.