Louis Armstrong (1901–1971)

Born: August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Died: July 6, 1971 (age 69) in New York City, New York, USA

Satchmo became Armstrong’s nickname after his 1932 Grand Tour of Europe. A London music magazine editor wrote “Satchmo” in an article — probably because he couldn’t read his garbled notes. Up until that time Armstrong’s nickname was Satchelmouth.

Pictured on a 32¢ US commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of American Music series, issued 1 September 1995.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 (under the category Early Influence).

Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1978 (charter member).

He was nicknamed “Pops” because that is the name he addressed everyone by. Later on in his career, he picked up the sobriquet “America’s Jazz Ambassador” because of his frequent jazz concerts around the world.