Louis Daniel Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901. Although he was born on
             August 4, 1901, he celebrated it on July 4, 1900. He did this because it was what he was told and therefore believed.
             Louis came from a poor family in New Orleans. His father, Willie Armstrong, worked as a laborer, and he left the family shortly after Louis was born. His mother was a domestic servant and a part-time prostitute name Mayanee Armstrong. She also ended up leaving the family. After his mother left, his grandmother took care of Louis and his sister Beatrice. Louis said that it was mainly the love of his family that got him through the hard times.
             In his biography, "Louie," he described his neighborhood as a battlefield. He called it this because only the toughest people lived there, and the people that did live there would fight and shoot a lot. He also said the one block between Gravier and Perido Streets was more crowded with people than you will ever see in your life. Since he was poor, he would dress in rags and often find items to use in garbage cans.
             Since Louis had nothing to do, he would sing on street corners for tips. This is when his musical talents started. At this time you could say that his life was miserable. One year for New Year's Eve Louis fire a borrowed gun into the air and was arrested. As punishment he was sent to a reform school. This however might have been one of the most important things that happened to him in his life. This is true because while he was there, Louis learned to play and sing music. First he learned to vocals, then he learned to play percussion, then he was a bugler, and finally he learned how to play the cornet. While there, he continued his studies under a professor there. After that he participated in marching bands and other ensemble music.
             When Louis got out of reform school at the age of fourteen, he worked selling newspapers, unloading boats, and selling coal from a ca...