Official name	City of St. Louis
Settlement type	Independent City
Nickname	Rome of the West, Gateway to the West, Mound City
Website	http://stlouis-mo.gov
Image seal	SaintLouisSeal.png
Map caption	Location in the state of Missouri
Coordinates region	US-MO
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision type3	Metro
Subdivision name	United States
Subdivision name1	Missouri
Subdivision name2	Independent city
Subdivision name3	Greater St. Louis
Government type	Mayor–council government
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Francis G. Slay (D)
Established title	Founded
Established date	1764
Established title2	Incorporated
Established date2	1822
Area magnitude	1 E8
Area total km2	171.3
Area total sq mi	66.2
Area land km2	160.4
Area land sq mi	61.9
Area water km2	11.0
Area water sq mi	4.2
Population total	319,294 (58th)
Population as of	2010
Population metro	2,845,298 (16th)
Population density km2	1,990.6
Population density sq mi	5,158.2
Population demonym	St. Louisan
Timezone	CST
Utc offset	−6
Timezone dst	CDT
Utc offset dst	−5
Area code	314
Latns	N
Coordinates	38°37′38″N90°11′52″N
Longew	W
Elevation ft	466
Elevation m	142
Elevation footnotes
Website	http://stlouis-mo.gov/

St. Louis ( or ; French: Saint-Louis or St-Louis, ) is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, its population of 319,294 made it the 58th-largest U.S. city, while the Greater St. Louis combined statistical area's population of 2,845,298 made it the 16th-largest urban area in the country and the largest in the state. It also made it the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Midwest.

The city of St. Louis was founded in 1764 by Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, and after the Louisiana Purchase, it became a major port on the Mississippi River. Its population expanded after the American Civil War, and it became the fourth-largest city in the United States in the late 19th century. It seceded from St. Louis County in 1876, allowing it to become an independent city and limiting its political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the 1904 World's Fair and the 1904 Olympic Games. The city's population peaked in 1950, then began a long decline.

With its French past and numerous Catholic immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries, St. Louis is one of the largest centers of Roman Catholicism in the United States. The economy of St. Louis relies on service, manufacturing, and tourism, and the region is home to several major corporations, including Express Scripts, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Graybar Electric, Scottrade, Edward Jones Investments, Emerson Electric, Energizer, and Monsanto. St. Louis is home to three professional sports teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals, one of the most successful Major League Baseball clubs; the hockey St. Louis Blues and football St. Louis Rams. The city is commonly identified with the Gateway Arch, part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in downtown St. Louis.

History

The area that would become St. Louis was a center of Native American Mississippian culture, which built numerous temple and residential earthwork mounds in the region, giving the city its nickname, the "Mound City". European exploration of the area began in 1673, when French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled through the Mississippi River valley. Five years later, La Salle claimed the region for France, and the earliest settlements in the area were built in Illinois during the 1690s and early 1700s at Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and Fort de Chartres. Migrants from the eastern French villages founded Ste. Genevieve, Missouri across the Mississippi River from Kaskaskia, and in early 1764, Pierre Laclède and his stepson Auguste Chouteau founded the city of St. Louis.

In 1765, St. Louis was made the capital of French Upper Louisiana, and after 1768, control of the region was given to the Spanish. In 1780, St. Louis was attacked by British forces, mostly Native Americans, during the American Revolutionary War. St. Louis was transferred back to France in 1800, then sold to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase, and the city became the territorial capital. Shortly after the purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition left St. Louis in May 1804, reaching the Pacific Ocean in summer 1805, and returning on September 23, 1806. Both Lewis and Clark lived in St. Louis after the expedition. Many other explorers, settlers, and trappers (such as Ashley's Hundred) would later take a similar route to the West. The city elected its first municipal legislators (called trustees) in 1808.

Steamboats first arrived in St. Louis in 1817, improving connections with New Orleans and eastern markets. Missouri became a state in 1821, at which point the capital moved from St. Louis. However, St. Louis was incorporated as a city in 1822, and continued to see growth due to its port connections. Immigrants from Ireland and Germany arrived in St. Louis in significant numbers starting in the 1840s, and the population of St. Louis grew from less than 20,000 in 1840, to 77,860 in 1850, to more than 160,000 by 1860.

During the American Civil War, St. Louis was the site of significant divisions, although no combat took place in the city after the 1861 Camp Jackson Affair. The war hurt St. Louis economically, due to the blockade of river traffic to the South, although the St. Louis Arsenal constructed ironclads for the Union. St. Louis profited via trade with the West after the war, and in 1874, the city completed the Eads Bridge, the first bridge over the Mississippi River in the area. On August 22, 1876, the city of St. Louis voted to secede from St. Louis County and become an independent city, and industrial production continued to increase during the late 19th century. The city also produced a number of notable people in the fields of literature, including Tennessee Williams and T.S. Eliot, and major corporations such as the Anheuser-Busch brewery and Ralston-Purina company were established. St. Louis also was home to several brass era automobile companies, including the Success Automobile Manufacturing Company; St. Louis also is the site of the Wainwright Building, an early skyscraper built in 1892.

In 1904, the city hosted the 1904 World's Fair and the 1904 Summer Olympics, becoming the first non-European city to host the Olympics. Proceeds from the fair provided the city with the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Missouri History Museum.

Discrimination in housing and employment were common in St. Louis, and starting in the 1910s, many property deeds included racial or religious restrictive covenants. During World War II, the NAACP campaigned to integrate war factories, and restrictive covenants were prohibited in 1948 by the Shelley v. Kraemer U.S. Supreme Court decision, which originated as a lawsuit in St. Louis. However, de jure educational segregation continued into the 1950s, and de facto segregation continued into the 1970s, leading to a court challenge and interdistrict desegregation agreement.

St. Louis expanded in the early 20th century due to the formation of many industrial companies and due to wartime housing shortages, and it reached its peak population of 856,796 at the 1950 census. Suburbanization from the 1950s through the 1990s dramatically reduced the city's population, and although small increases in population were seen in the early 2000s, the city of St. Louis lost population from 2000 to 2010. Several urban renewal projects commenced in the 1950s, and the city achieved notoriety for its housing projects, particularly Pruitt-Igoe. Since the 1980s, revitalization efforts have focused on downtown St. Louis, and gentrification has taken place in the Washington Avenue Historic District. Because of the upturn in urban revitalization, St. Louis received the World Leadership Award for urban renewal in 2006.

Geography

Topography

According to the United States Census Bureau, St. Louis has a total area of 66.2 square miles (171.3 km²), of which 61.9 square miles (160.4 km²) is land and 4.2 square miles (11.0 km² or 6.39%) is water. The city is built primarily on bluffs and terraces that rise 100–200 feet above the western banks of the Mississippi River, in the Midwestern United States just south of the Missouri-Mississippi confluence. Much of the area is a fertile and gently rolling prairie that features low hills and broad, shallow valleys. Both the Mississippi River and the Missouri River have cut large valleys with wide flood plains.

Limestone and dolomite of the Mississippian epoch underlie the area, and parts of the city are karst in nature. This is particularly true of the city south of downtown, with numerous sinkholes and caves. Most of the caves in the city have been sealed, but many springs are visible along the riverfront. Coal, brick clay, and millerite ore were once mined in the city, and the predominant surface rock, the St. Louis Limestone, is used as dimension stone and rubble for construction.

Near the southern boundary of the City of St. Louis (separating it from St. Louis County) is the River des Peres, virtually the only river or stream within the city limits that is not entirely underground. Most of River des Peres was confined to a channel or put underground in the 1920s and early 1930s. The lower section of the river was the site of some of the worst flooding of the Great Flood of 1993.

The Missouri River forms the northern border of St. Louis County, exclusive of a few areas where the river has changed its course. The Meramec River forms most of its southern border. To the east is the City and the Mississippi River.

Climate

St. Louis lies in the transitional zone between the humid continental climate type and the humid subtropical climate type (Köppen Dfa and Cfa, respecively), with neither large mountains nor large bodies of water to moderate its temperature. It is subject to both cold Arctic air and hot, humid tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico. The city has four distinct seasons. Spring is the wettest season and produces severe weather ranging from tornadoes to winter storms. Summers are hot and humid, and temperatures of or higher occur between 35 and 40 days a year, while days of or higher occur usually no more than five days per year. Fall is mild with lower humidity and can produce intermittent bouts of heavy rainfall with the first snow flurries usually forming in early or mid November. Winters are often cold and snowy with temperatures frequently below freezing. Winter storm systems, such as Alberta Clippers and Panhandle hooks, can bring days of heavy freezing rain, ice pellets, and snowfall.

The average annual temperature for the years 1970–2000, recorded at nearby Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport, is , and average precipitation is . The normal high temperature in July is , and the normal low temperature in January is , although this varies from year to year. Both and temperatures can be seen on an average 2 or 3 days per year. The official record low is on January 5, 1884, although there were unofficial readings of on January 29, 1873 and on January 1, 1864; and the records high is on July 14, 1954.

Winter (December through February) is the driest season, with an average of precipitation. The average seasonal snowfall is . Spring (March through May), is typically the wettest season, with of precipitation. Dry spells lasting one to two weeks are common during the growing seasons.

St. Louis experiences thunderstorms 48 days a year on average. Especially in the spring, these storms can often be severe, with high winds, large hail and tornadoes. St. Louis has been affected on more than one occasion by particularly damaging tornadoes.

Some late autumns feature the warm weather known as Indian summer; some years see roses in bloom as late as early December.

Flora and fauna

Before the founding of the city, the area was prairie and open forest maintained by burning by Native Americans. Trees are mainly oak, maple, and hickory, similar to the forests of the nearby Ozarks; common understory trees include Eastern Redbud, Serviceberry, and Flowering Dogwood. Riparian areas are forested with mainly American sycamore. Most of the residential area of the city is planted with large native shade trees. The largest native forest area is found in Forest Park. In Autumn, the changing color of the trees is notable. Most species here are typical of the Eastern Woodland, although numerous decorative non-native species are found; the most notable invasive species is Japanese honeysuckle, which is actively removed from some parks.

Large mammals found in the city include urbanized coyotes and usually a White-tailed deer. Eastern Gray Squirrel, Cottontail rabbit, and other rodents are abundant, as well as the nocturnal Virginia Opossum. Large bird species are abundant in parks and include Canada goose, Mallard duck, as well as shorebirds, including the Great Egret and Great Blue Heron. Gulls are common along the Mississippi River; these species typically follow barge traffic. Winter populations of Bald Eagles are found by the Mississippi River around the Chain of Rocks Bridge. The city is on the Mississippi Flyway, used by migrating birds, and has a large variety of small bird species, common to the eastern US. The Eurasian Tree Sparrow, an introduced species, is limited in North America to the counties surrounding St. Louis. Tower Grove Park is a well-known birdwatching area in the city.

Frogs are commonly found in the springtime, especially after extensive wet periods. Common species include the American toad and species of chorus frogs commonly called spring peepers that are found in nearly every pond. Some years have outbreaks of cicadas or ladybugs. Mosquitos and houseflies are common insect nuisances; because of this, windows are nearly universally fitted with screens, and screened-in porches are common in homes of the area. Invasive populations of honeybees have sharply declined in recent years, and numerous native species of pollinator insects have recovered to fill their ecological niche.

Demographics

According to the 2010 United States Census, in the city of St. Louis, there were 319,294 people living in 142,057 households, of which 67,488 households were families. The population density was ..... people per square mile (...../km²). The age distribution of the city showed approximately 24 percent of the population was 19 or younger, 9 percent were 20 to 24, 31 percent were 25 to 44, 25 percent were 45 to 64, and 11 percent were 65 or older. The median age was approximately 34 years. The racial makeup of the city of St. Louis was approximately 49.2 percent African-American, 43.9 percent White (42.2% Non-Hispanic White), 2.9 percent Asian, 0.3 percent Native American/Alaska Native, 2.4 percent two or more races, and 1.3 percent some other race. Approximately 3.5 percent of the city's population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

19 percent of the city's housing units were vacant, and slightly less than half of these were vacant structures not for sale or rent. In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $29,156, and the median income for a family was $32,585. Males had a median income of $31,106 versus $26,987 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,108.

St. Louis experienced slow growth from its founding in the 1760s through the American Civil War, and after the war it grew quickly with industrialization, reaching its peak population in 1950. It experienced a population shift to the suburbs in the 20th century; first because of increased demand for new housing following World War II, and later white flight from older neighborhoods to newer ones.

In 2010, the city of St.Louis was awarded for being one of the most generous large cities in the United States for online monetary donations and has also been recognized for having an extremely high volunteer rate in comparison to other major U.S cities.

Economy

According to the 2007 Economic Census, manufacturing in the city conducted nearly $11 billion in business, followed by the healthcare and social service industry with $3.5 billion, professional or technical services with $3.1 billion, and the retail trade with $2.5 billion. The sector employing the largest number of workers in the city was the healthcare sector with 34,000 workers, followed by administrative and support jobs with 24,000 workers, manufacturing with 21,000 workers, and food service with 20,000 workers.

The rivers of St. Louis play a large role in moving goods, especially bulk commodities such as grain, coal, salt, and certain chemicals and petroleum products. The Port of St. Louis in 2004 was the third-largest inland port by tonnage in the country, and the 21st-largest of any sort.

Major companies and institutions

As of 2011, the St. Louis area is home to nine Fortune 500 companies, including Express Scripts, Emerson Electric, Monsanto, Reinsurance Group of America, Ameren, Charter Communications, Peabody Energy, Graybar Electric, and Centene. Other notable corporations from the area include Edward Jones Investments, Scottrade, Wells Fargo Advisors (formerly A.G. Edwards), Energizer Holdings, Ralcorp, Hardee's, and Enterprise Holdings (parent company of several car rental companies). Significant healthcare and biotechnology institutions with operations in St. Louis include Pfizer, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the Solae Company, Sigma-Aldrich, and Multidata Systems International.

Although it was purchased by Belgium-based InBev, Anheuser-Busch continues its presence in the city, as does Mallinckrodt Incorporated in spite of its purchase by Tyco International. The May Department Stores Company (which owned Famous-Barr and Marshall Field's stores) was purchased by Federated Department Stores, but Federated maintained its regional headquarters in the area. General Motors continues to produce railroad cars in the St. Louis area, although Chrysler closed its production facility in the region, which was located in Fenton, Missouri. Despite its purchase by Nestle, Ralston Purina remained headquartered in St. Louis as a wholly owned subsidiary. St. Louis is also home to Boeing Phantom Works (formerly McDonnell-Douglas). In addition, the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis in downtown is one of two federal reserve banks in Missouri.

Culture

Many St. Louis cultural attractions are located in the city of St. Louis, such as the Gateway Arch, although surrounding communities contribute to the culture of the region. St. Louis County and the city of St. Louis have a combined special tax district to support the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, and the St. Louis Zoo, all three of which are located in the city. The culture of Greater St. Louis is also defined by music and the performing arts, especially its association with ragtime, rock and roll, and blues, and its current association with classical music, hip hop music, and rap. Several places of worship in the city are also notable, including the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.

Sports

St. Louis is home to professional Major League Baseball, National Football League, and National Hockey League teams, notable collegiate-level soccer teams, and has hosted several collegiate sports tournaments.

+ Professional sports teams in St. Louis
!Club	!Sport	!League	!Venue
St. Louis Cardinals	Baseball	Major League Baseball	Busch Stadium
St. Louis Rams	American football	National Football League	Edward Jones Dome
	Ice hockey	National Hockey League	Scottrade Center

Professional sports

The St. Louis Cardinals, one of the oldest franchises in Major League Baseball, have accumulated ten World Series titles, and two minor league baseball teams play in the area, the Gateway Grizzlies and the River City Rascals. The St. Louis Rams, an American football NFL team, play at the Edward Jones Dome and have won one Super Bowl championship. The St. Louis Blues, a franchise of the National Hockey League, play at the Scottrade Center, and the region hosts NHRA drag racing and NASCAR events at the Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois.

Amateur sports

At the collegiate level, St. Louis has hosted the Final Four of both the women's and men's college basketball NCAA Division I championship tournaments, and the Frozen Four collegiate ice hockey tournament. Although the area does not support a National Basketball Association team, it hosts an American Basketball Association team called the St. Louis Pioneers. Saint Louis University has won 10 NCAA Men's Division I soccer championships, and the city has hosted the College Cup several times. In addition to collegiate soccer, St. Louisans have played for the United States men's national soccer team, and 20 St. Louisans have been elected into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. St. Louis also is the origin of the sport of corkball, a type of baseball in which there is no base running.

Parks

The city operates more than one hundred parks, with amenities that include sports facilities, playgrounds, concert areas, picnic areas, and lakes. Forest Park, located on the western edge of city, is the largest park in the city, although it is not the largest park in the region. Another significant park in the city is the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, a National Memorial located on the riverfront in downtown St. Louis. The centerpiece of the park is the 630 feet (192 m) tall Gateway Arch, designed by noted architect Eero Saarinen and completed on October 28, 1965. Also part of the park is the Old Courthouse, where the first two trials of the Dred Scott case were held in 1847 and 1850.

Other notable parks in the city include the Missouri Botanical Garden, Tower Grove Park, and Citygarden. The Missouri Botanical Garden, a private garden and botanical research facility, includes the Climatron, a greenhouse built as a geodesic dome. Immediately south of the Missouri Botanical Garden is Tower Grove Park, a gift to the City by Henry Shaw. Citygarden is an urban sculpture park located in downtown St. Louis, with art from Fernand Léger, Aristide Maillol, Julian Opie, Tom Otterness, Niki de Saint Phalle, and Mark di Suvero. The park is also divided into three sections, each of which represent a different theme: river bluffs; flood plains; and urban gardens. The park also has a restaurant – The Terrace View. Another downtown sculpture park is the Serra Sculpture Park, with the 1982 Richard Serra sculpture Twain.

Government

The city of St. Louis has a mayor-council government with legislative authority vested in the Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis and with executive authority in the Mayor of St. Louis and six other separately elected officials. The Board of Aldermen is made up of 28 members (one elected from each of the city's wards) plus a board president who is elected city-wide. As of 2004, 257,442 registered voters lived in the city.

Local and regional government

Municipal elections in St. Louis city are held in odd numbered years, with the primary elections in March and the general election in April. The mayor is elected in odd numbered years following the United States Presidential Election, as are the aldermen representing odd-numbered wards. The President of the Board of Aldermen and the aldermen from even-numbered wards are elected in the off-years. The Democratic Party has dominated St. Louis city politics for decades. The city has not had a Republican mayor since 1949 and the last time a Republican was elected to another city-wide office was in the 1970s. As of 2006, 27 of the city's 28 Aldermen are Democrats.

Although St. Louis City and County separated in 1876, some mechanisms have been put in place for joint funding management and funding of regional assets. The St. Louis Zoo-Museum district collects property taxes from residents of both St. Louis City and County and the funds are used to support cultural institutions including the St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis Art Museum and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Similarly, the Metropolitan Sewer District provides sanitary and storm sewer service to the city and much of St. Louis County. The Bi-State Development Agency (now known as Metro) runs the region's MetroLink light rail system and bus system.

State and federal government

The city of St. Louis is represented by eleven districts in the Missouri House of Representatives: the 57th, 58th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 63rd, 65th, 67th and 108th are entirely within the city limits, while the 64th and 66th include part of the city and part of St. Louis County. Two Missouri State Senate districts, the 4th and 5th, are entirely within the city, while the 1st Senate district includes part of the city and part of St. Louis County.

The City of St. Louis is split roughly in half north to south by Missouri's 1st and 3rd U.S. Congressional districts. The 1st is represented by Lacy Clay and the 3rd by Russ Carnahan. Both are members of the Democratic Party; a Republican has not represented a significant portion of St. Louis in the U.S. House since 1949. Each district also includes a significant portion of St. Louis County. Both the city and county lost population in the 2010 Census which contributed to Missouri losing a Congressional seat effective 2013. Initial redistricting maps indicate that the 3rd district would be absorbed into the 1st district placing Carnahan and Clay in the same district and giving St. Louis only one representative in Congress.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri are based in the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. St. Louis is also home to a Federal Reserve System branch, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) also maintains major facilities in the St. Louis area.

Crime

Since the mid 1990s, St. Louis index crime rates have declined, although homicide rates in the city of St. Louis have remained higher than the United States national average. St. Louis also frequently is ranked among the "most dangerous" in the country by CQ Press, although these rankings are controversial and do not reflect the crime rate of Greater St. Louis.

Education

The St. Louis Public Schools serves the city of St. Louis with 77 schools, and it is run by a state appointed board. With more than 25,000 students, the district is the largest in Greater St. Louis. The city of St. Louis has several private high schools, both secular and religiously affiliated, including numerous Catholic and Lutheran schools.

According to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, the city of St. Louis is home to two national research universities: Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University. Washington University Medical Center is located in the city's Central West End neighborhood, while the majority of Washington University's main campus is located in adjacent St. Louis County.

Media

Greater St. Louis commands the 21st largest media market in the United States, a position it has held with little variation for more than ten years. All of the major U.S. television networks have subsidiaries in St. Louis, including KTVI 2 (Fox), KMOV 4 (CBS), KSDK 5 (NBC), KETC 9 (PBS), KPLR-TV 11 (CW), KDNL 30 (ABC), WRBU 46 (MNTV), and WPXS 51 Retro Television Network. Among the most popular radio stations in the St. Louis area are KMOX, (AM sports and talk), KLOU (FM oldies), WIL-FM (FM country), WARH (FM adult contemporary), and KSLZ (FM top 40 mainstream). St. Louis also supports public radio with KWMU, an NPR affiliate, and community radio with KDHX.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the region's major daily newspaper. Other newspapers in the region include the Suburban Journals, serving parts of St. Louis County, while the primary alternative newspaper is the Riverfront Times. Three weeklies serve the African-American community: the St. Louis Argus, the St. Louis American, and the St. Louis Sentinel. St. Louis Magazine, a local monthly magazine, covers topics such as local history, cuisine, and lifestyles, while the weekly St. Louis Business Journal provides coverage of regional business news. St. Louis is also home to the nation's last remaining metropolitan journalism review, the Gateway Journalism Review, based at Webster University in the suburb of Webster Groves. St. Louis also is served by an online newspaper, the St. Louis Beacon, which operates in partnership and shares facilities with KETC 9 TV.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The city of St. Louis is served by four interstates and several U.S. highways and state roadways. Although there are no airports within the city limits, the city owns and operates Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, located in northwest St. Louis County. Freight rail and passenger rail service operate in the city on tracks owned by BNSF Railway, with passenger service provided by Amtrak and served at the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center in downtown St. Louis. Rapid transit and commuter rail service in the city is provided by MetroLink, while bus service is provided by MetroBus, both of which are owned and operated by the Bi-State Development Agency. St. Louis also maintains a port authority for river shipping, and taxicabs are regulated within the city.

Healthcare

St. Louis is a center of medicine and biotechnology. The Washington University School of Medicine is affiliated with the Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the fifth largest in the world. The School of Medicine is also affiliated with St. Louis Children's Hospital, one of the country's top pediatric hospitals. Both hospitals are owned by BJC HealthCare. The School of Medicine ranks in the top five nationally. Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital operate the Siteman Cancer Center. The school's Genome Sequencing Center played a major role in the Human Genome Project. Saint Louis University Medical School is affiliated with Tenet's Saint Louis University Hospital and SSM Health Care's Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. It also has a cancer center, vaccine research center and a bioethics institute. Several different organizations operate hospitals in the area, including BJC HealthCare, SSM Health Care, Tenet and St. John's Mercy Healthcare, with operates St. John's Mercy Medical Center.

Architecture and neighborhoods

St. Louis possesses several significant examples of 19th century architecture, such as the early stone construction Emmanuel DeHodiamont House, the Greek Revival style Chatillon-DeMenil House in the Soulard neighborhood, the Victorian era Campbell House, and the Wainwright Building, an early Louis Sullivan skyscraper. The city is divided into 79 government-designated neighborhoods. The neighborhood divisions have no legal standing, although some neighborhood associations administer grants or hold veto power over historic-district development.

Sister cities

St. Louis has fifteen sister cities. – Bologna, Italy – Bogor, Indonesia – Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Donegal, Co. Donegal, Ireland – Galway, Co. Galway, Ireland – Georgetown, Guyana – Lyon, France – Nanjing, China – Saint-Louis, Senegal – Samara, Russia – San Luis Potosí, Mexico – Stuttgart, Germany – Suwa, Japan – Szczecin, Poland – Wuhan, China

See also

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis

Caves of St. Louis

Great Flood of 1993

Heat wave of 2006 derecho series

LaClede Town

List of Mayors of St. Louis

History of the Jews in St. Louis, Missouri

National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Louis (city, A–L), Missouri

National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Louis (city, M-Z), Missouri

St. Louis in the Civil War

St. Louis smog episode (1939)

References

External links

Built St. Louis

St. Louis Convention & Visitors Bureau

St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association

Category:Cities in Missouri Category:Communities on U.S. Route 66 Category:Greater St. Louis Category:Host cities of the Summer Olympic Games Category:Independent cities in the United States Category:Populated places established in 1764 Category:Populated places in Missouri with African American majority populations Category:Missouri populated places on the Mississippi River Category:United States colonial and territorial capitals

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position	Right wing
shoots	Right
height ft	6
height in	1
weight lb	219
team	Minnesota Wild
league	NHL
former teams	San Jose Sharks
nationality	Canada
birth date	July 28, 1984
birth place	Edmonton, AB, CAN
career start	2005
draft	Undrafted }}

Brad Staubitz (born July 28, 1984 in Edmonton, Alberta and raised in Sarnia, Ontario) is a Canadian ice hockey forward for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League.

Playing career

Staubitz played his junior career as a defenceman. He was converted to the wing at the pro level. Undrafted, Staubitz signed as a free agent with the San Jose Sharks to a three-year entry level contract on September 18, 2005. Brad made his NHL debut for the Sharks during the 2008–09 season and recorded a fighting major on his first career shift against the Anaheim Ducks on October 17, 2008. On February 18, 2009, Staubitz was recalled from the AHL's Worcester Sharks.

He played in 47 games for San Jose in 2009–10 recording a career high 6 points. On June 21, 2010 he was traded to the Minnesota Wild for a fifth-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He was then signed to a two-year contract by the Wild on June 22.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season (sports)>Season	! Team	! League		! GP	Goal (ice hockey)>G	Assist (ice hockey)>A	Point (ice hockey)>Pts	Penalty (ice hockey)>PIM		! GP	! G	! A	! Pts	! PIM
	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds			45	0	3	3	46		3	0	0	0	2
	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OHL		55	2	6	8	116		4	0	0	0	7
	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OHL		66	6	18	24	140		—	—	—	—	—
	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OHL		40	2	11	13	101		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Ottawa 67's	OHL		30	5	8	13	80		21	4	16	20	70
				71	0	6	6	245		—	—	—	—	—
	Worcester Sharks	AHL		51	1	4	5	137		5	0	0	0	13
	Worcester Sharks	AHL		73	6	14	20	195		—	—	—	—	—
	Worcester Sharks	AHL		38	0	5	5	130		10	0	2	2	15
	San Jose Sharks	NHL		35	1	2	3	76		—	—	—	—	—
	San Jose Sharks	NHL		47	3	3	6	110		—	—	—	—	—
	Minnesota Wild	NHL		71	4	5	9	173		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				! 153	! 8	! 10	! 18	! 359		! —	! —	! —	! —	! —

References

External links

Category:1984 births Category:Canadian ice hockey right wingers Category:Cleveland Barons (2001–2006) players Category:Ice hockey people from Ontario Category:Living people Category:Minnesota Wild players Category:Ottawa 67's alumni Category:People from Sarnia, Ontario Category:San Jose Sharks players Category:Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds alumni Category:Undrafted National Hockey League players Category:Worcester Sharks players

de:Brad Staubitz fr:Brad Staubitz

Coordinates	38°37′38″N90°11′52″N
name	Louis Armstrong
alt	A picture of Louis Armstrong. Short-haired black man in his fifties blowing into a trumpet. He is wearing a light-colored sport coat, a white shirt and a bow tie. He is faced left with his eyes looking upwards. His right hand is fingering the trumpet, with the index finger down and three fingers pointing upwards. The man's left hand is mostly covered with a handkerchief and it has a shining ring on the little finger. He is wearing a wristwatch on the left wrist.
landscape	Yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Louis Armstrong
born	August 4, 1901New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
died	July 06, 1971Corona, Queens, New York City, U.S.
instruments	Trumpet, cornet, vocals
genre	Dixieland, jazz, swing, traditional pop
occupation	Musician
spouse	Daisy Parker
years active	c. 1914–71
associated acts	Joe "King" Oliver, Ella Fitzgerald, Kid Ory, Bobby Hackett
website	}}

Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.

Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performance.

With his instantly recognizable deep and distinctive gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also greatly skilled at scat singing, vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics.

Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet-playing, Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general.

Armstrong was one of the first truly popular African-American entertainers to "cross over," whose skin-color was secondary to his amazing talent in an America that was severely racially divided. It allowed him socially acceptable access to the upper echelons of American society that were highly restricted for a person of color. While he rarely publicly politicized his race, often to the dismay of fellow African-Americans, he was privately a strong supporter of the Civil Rights movement in America.

Biography

Early life

Armstrong often stated that he was born on July 4, 1900, a date that has been noted in many biographies. Although he died in 1971, it was not until the mid-1980s that his true birth date of August 4, 1901 was discovered through the examination of baptismal records.

Armstrong was born into a very poor family in New Orleans, Louisiana, the grandson of slaves. He spent his youth in poverty, in a rough neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, known as “Back of Town”, as his father, William Armstrong (1881–1922), abandoned the family when Louis was an infant and took up with another woman. His mother, Mary "Mayann" Albert (1886–1942), then left Louis and his younger sister Beatrice Armstrong Collins (1903–1987) in the care of his grandmother, Josephine Armstrong, and at times, his Uncle Isaac. At five, he moved back to live with his mother and her relatives, and saw his father only in parades.

He attended the Fisk School for Boys. It was there that he likely had his first exposure to Creole music. He brought in some money as a paperboy and also by finding discarded food and selling it to restaurants, but it was not enough to keep his mother from prostitution. He hung out in dance halls close to home, where he observed everything from licentious dancing to the quadrille. For extra money he also hauled coal to Storyville, the famed red-light district, and listened to the bands playing in the brothels and dance halls, especially Pete Lala's where Joe "King" Oliver performed and other famous musicians would drop in to jam.

After dropping out of the Fisk School at age eleven, Armstrong joined a quartet of boys that sang in the streets for money. But he also started to get into trouble. Cornet player Bunk Johnson said he taught Armstrong (then 11) to play by ear at Dago Tony's Tonk in New Orleans, although in his later years Armstrong gave the credit to Oliver. Armstrong hardly looked back at his youth as the worst of times but instead drew inspiration from it, “Every time I close my eyes blowing that trumpet of mine—I look right in the heart of good old New Orleans...It has given me something to live for.”

He also worked for a Lithuanian-Jewish immigrant family, the Karnofskys, who had a junk hauling business and gave him odd jobs. They took him in and treated him as almost a family member, knowing he lived without a father, and would feed and nurture him. He later wrote a memoir of his relationship with the Karnofskys titled, Louis Armstrong + the Jewish Family in New Orleans, La., the Year of 1907. In it he describes his discovery that this family was also subject to discrimination by "other white folks' nationalities who felt that they were better than the Jewish race. I was only seven years old but I could easily see the ungodly treatment that the White Folks were handing the poor Jewish family whom I worked for." Armstrong wore a Star of David pendant for the rest of his life and wrote about what he learned from them: "how to live—real life and determination." The influence of Karnofsky is remembered in New Orleans by the Karnofsky Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to accepting donated musical instruments to "put them into the hands of an eager child who could not otherwise take part in a wonderful learning experience."

Armstrong developed his cornet playing seriously in the band of the New Orleans Home for Colored Waifs, where he had been sent multiple times for general delinquency, most notably for a long term after firing his stepfather's pistol into the air at a New Year's Eve celebration, as police records confirm. Professor Peter Davis (who frequently appeared at the Home at the request of its administrator, Captain Joseph Jones) instilled discipline in and provided musical training to the otherwise self-taught Armstrong. Eventually, Davis made Armstrong the band leader. The Home band played around New Orleans and the thirteen year old Louis began to draw attention by his cornet playing, starting him on a musical career. At fourteen he was released from the Home, living again with his father and new stepmother and then back with his mother and also back to the streets and their temptations. Armstrong got his first dance hall job at Henry Ponce’s where Black Benny became his protector and guide. He hauled coal by day and played his cornet at night.

He played in the city's frequent brass band parades and listened to older musicians every chance he got, learning from Bunk Johnson, Buddy Petit, Kid Ory, and above all, Joe "King" Oliver, who acted as a mentor and father figure to the young musician. Later, he played in the brass bands and riverboats of New Orleans, and began traveling with the well-regarded band of Fate Marable, which toured on a steamboat up and down the Mississippi River. He described his time with Marable as, "going to the University," since it gave him a much wider experience working with written arrangements.

In 1919, Joe Oliver decided to go north and resigned his position in Kid Ory's band; Armstrong replaced him. He also became second trumpet for the Tuxedo Brass Band, a society band.

Career

On March 19, 1918, Louis married Daisy Parker from Gretna, Louisiana. They adopted a 3-year-old boy, Clarence Armstrong, whose mother, Louis's cousin Flora, died soon after giving birth. Clarence Armstrong was mentally disabled (the result of a head injury at an early age) and Louis would spend the rest of his life taking care of him. Louis's marriage to Parker failed quickly and they separated. She died shortly after the divorce.

Through all his riverboat experience Armstrong’s musicianship began to mature and expand. At twenty, he could read music and he started to be featured in extended trumpet solos, one of the first jazzmen to do this, injecting his own personality and style into his solo turns. He had learned how to create a unique sound and also started using singing and patter in his performances. In 1922, Armstrong joined the exodus to Chicago, where he had been invited by his mentor, Joe "King" Oliver, to join his Creole Jazz Band and where he could make a sufficient income so that he no longer needed to supplement his music with day labor jobs. It was a boom time in Chicago and though race relations were poor, the “Windy City” was teeming with jobs for black people, who were making good wages in factories and had plenty to spend on entertainment.

Oliver's band was the best and most influential hot jazz band in Chicago in the early 1920s, at a time when Chicago was the center of the jazz universe. Armstrong lived like a king in Chicago, in his own apartment with his own private bath (his first). Excited as he was to be in Chicago, he began his career-long pastime of writing nostalgic letters to friends in New Orleans. As Armstrong’s reputation grew, he was challenged to “cutting contests” by hornmen trying to displace the new phenom, who could blow two hundred high C’s in a row. Armstrong made his first recordings on the Gennett and Okeh labels (jazz records were starting to boom across the country), including taking some solos and breaks, while playing second cornet in Oliver's band in 1923. At this time, he met Hoagy Carmichael (with whom he would collaborate later) who was introduced by friend Bix Beiderbecke, who now had his own Chicago band.

Armstrong enjoyed working with Oliver, but Louis's second wife, pianist Lil Hardin Armstrong, urged him to seek more prominent billing and develop his newer style away from the influence of Oliver. Armstrong took the advice of his wife and left Oliver's band. For a year Armstrong played in Fletcher Henderson's band in New York on many recordings. After playing in New York, Armstrong returned to Chicago, playing in large orchestras; there he created his most important early recordings. Lil had her husband play classical music in church concerts to broaden his skill and improve his solo play and she prodded him into wearing more stylish attire to make him look sharp and to better offset his growing girth. Lil’s influence eventually undermined Armstrong’s relationship with his mentor, especially concerning his salary and additional moneys that Oliver held back from Armstrong and other band members. Armstrong and Oliver parted amicably in 1924. Shortly afterward, Armstrong received an invitation to go to New York City to play with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the top African-American band of the day. Armstrong switched to the trumpet to blend in better with the other musicians in his section. His influence upon Henderson's tenor sax soloist, Coleman Hawkins, can be judged by listening to the records made by the band during this period. Armstrong quickly adapted to the more tightly controlled style of Henderson, playing trumpet and even experimenting with the trombone and the other members quickly took up Armstrong’s emotional, expressive pulse. Soon his act included singing and telling tales of New Orleans characters, especially preachers. The Henderson Orchestra was playing in the best venues for white-only patrons, including the famed Roseland Ballroom, featuring the classy arrangements of Don Redman. Duke Ellington’s orchestra would go to Roseland to catch Armstrong’s performances and young hornmen around town tried in vain to outplay him, splitting their lips in their attempts.

During this time, Armstrong also made many recordings on the side, arranged by an old friend from New Orleans, pianist Clarence Williams; these included small jazz band sides with the Williams Blue Five (some of the best pairing Armstrong with one of Armstrong's few rivals in fiery technique and ideas, Sidney Bechet) and a series of accompaniments with blues singers, including Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Alberta Hunter.

Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1925 due mostly to the urging of his wife, who wanted to pump up Armstrong’s career and income. He was content in New York but later would concede that she was right and that the Henderson Orchestra was limiting his artistic growth. In publicity, much to his chagrin, she billed him as “the World’s Greatest Trumpet Player”. At first he was actually a member of the Lil Hardin Armstrong Band and working for his wife. He began recording under his own name for Okeh with his famous Hot Five and Hot Seven groups, producing hits such as "Potato Head Blues", "Muggles", (a reference to marijuana, for which Armstrong had a lifelong fondness), and "West End Blues", the music of which set the standard and the agenda for jazz for many years to come.

The group included Kid Ory (trombone), Johnny Dodds (clarinet), Johnny St. Cyr (banjo), wife Lil on piano, and usually no drummer. Armstrong’s bandleading style was easygoing, as St. Cyr noted, "One felt so relaxed working with him and he was very broad-minded ... always did his best to feature each individual." His recordings soon after with pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines (most famously their 1928 Weatherbird duet) and Armstrong's trumpet introduction to "West End Blues" remain some of the most famous and influential improvisations in jazz history. Armstrong was now free to develop his personal style as he wished, which included a heavy dose of effervescent jive, such as "whip that thing, Miss Lil" and "Mr. Johnny Dodds, Aw, do that clarinet, boy!"

Armstrong also played with Erskine Tate’s Little Symphony, actually a quintet, which played mostly at the Vendome Theatre. They furnished music for silent movies and live shows, including jazz versions of classical music, such as “Madame Butterfly,” which gave Armstrong experience with longer forms of music and with hosting before a large audience. He began to scat sing (improvised vocal jazz using non-sensical words) and was among the first to record it, on "Heebie Jeebies" in 1926. So popular was the recording the group became the most famous jazz band in the USA even though they as yet had not performed live to any great degree. Young musicians across the country, black and white, were turned on by Armstrong’s new type of jazz.

After separating from Lil, Armstrong started to play at the Sunset Café for Al Capone's associate Joe Glaser in the Carroll Dickerson Orchestra, with Earl Hines on piano, which was soon renamed Louis Armstrong and his Stompers, though Hines was the music director and Glaser managed the orchestra. Hines and Armstrong became fast friends as well as successful collaborators.

Armstrong returned to New York, in 1929, where he played in the pit orchestra of the successful musical Hot Chocolate, an all-black revue written by Andy Razaf and pianist/composer Fats Waller. He also made a cameo appearance as a vocalist, regularly stealing the show with his rendition of "Ain't Misbehavin'", his version of the song becoming his biggest selling record to date.

Armstrong started to work at Connie's Inn in Harlem, chief rival to the Cotton Club, a venue for elaborately staged floor shows, and a front for gangster Dutch Schultz. Armstrong also had considerable success with vocal recordings, including versions of famous songs composed by his old friend Hoagy Carmichael. His 1930s recordings took full advantage of the new RCA ribbon microphone, introduced in 1931, which imparted a characteristic warmth to vocals and immediately became an intrinsic part of the 'crooning' sound of artists like Bing Crosby. Armstrong's famous interpretation of Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" became one of the most successful versions of this song ever recorded, showcasing Armstrong's unique vocal sound and style and his innovative approach to singing songs that had already become standards.

Armstrong's radical re-working of Sidney Arodin and Carmichael's "Lazy River" (recorded in 1931) encapsulated many features of his groundbreaking approach to melody and phrasing. The song begins with a brief trumpet solo, then the main melody is stated by sobbing horns, memorably punctuated by Armstrong's growling interjections at the end of each bar: "Yeah! ..."Uh-huh" ..."Sure" ... "Way down, way down." In the first verse, he ignores the notated melody entirely and sings as if playing a trumpet solo, pitching most of the first line on a single note and using strongly syncopated phrasing. In the second stanza he breaks into an almost fully improvised melody, which then evolves into a classic passage of Armstrong "scat singing".

As with his trumpet playing, Armstrong's vocal innovations served as a foundation stone for the art of jazz vocal interpretation. The uniquely gritty coloration of his voice became a musical archetype that was much imitated and endlessly impersonated. His scat singing style was enriched by his matchless experience as a trumpet soloist. His resonant, velvety lower-register tone and bubbling cadences on sides such as "Lazy River" exerted a huge influence on younger white singers such as Bing Crosby.

The Depression of the early Thirties was especially hard on the jazz scene. The Cotton Club closed in 1936 after a long downward spiral and many musicians stopped playing altogether as club dates evaporated. Bix Beiderbecke died and Fletcher Henderson’s band broke up. King Oliver made a few records but otherwise struggled. Sidney Bechet became a tailor and Kid Ory returned to New Orleans and raised chickens. Armstrong moved to Los Angeles in 1930 to seek new opportunities. He played at the New Cotton Club in LA with Lionel Hampton on drums. The band drew the Hollywood crowd, which could still afford a lavish night life, while radio broadcasts from the club connected with younger audiences at home. Bing Crosby and many other celebrities were regulars at the club. In 1931, Armstrong appeared in his first movie, Ex-Flame. Armstrong was convicted of marijuana possession but received a suspended sentence. He returned to Chicago in late 1931 and played in bands more in the Guy Lombardo vein and he recorded more standards. When the mob insisted that he get out of town, Armstrong visited New Orleans, got a hero’s welcome and saw old friends. He sponsored a local baseball team known as “Armstrong’s Secret Nine” and got a cigar named after himself. But soon he was on the road again and after a tour across the country shadowed by the mob, Armstrong decided to go to Europe to escape.

After returning to the States, he undertook several exhausting tours. His agent Johnny Collins’ erratic behavior and his own spending ways left Armstrong short of cash. Breach of contract violations plagued him. Finally, he hired Joe Glaser as his new manager, a tough mob-connected wheeler-dealer, who began to straighten out his legal mess, his mob troubles, and his debts. Armstrong also began to experience problems with his fingers and lips, which were aggravated by his unorthodox playing style. As a result he branched out, developing his vocal style and making his first theatrical appearances. He appeared in movies again, including Crosby's 1936 hit Pennies from Heaven. In 1937, Armstrong substituted for Rudy Vallee on the CBS radio network and became the first African American to host a sponsored, national broadcast. He finally divorced Lil in 1938 and married longtime girlfriend Alpha.

After spending many years on the road, Armstrong settled permanently in Queens, New York in 1943 in contentment with his fourth wife, Lucille. Although subject to the vicissitudes of Tin Pan Alley and the gangster-ridden music business, as well as anti-black prejudice, he continued to develop his playing. He recorded Hoagy Carmichael's Rockin' Chair for Okeh Records.

During the subsequent thirty years, Armstrong played more than three hundred gigs a year. Bookings for big bands tapered off during the 1940s due to changes in public tastes: ballrooms closed, and there was competition from television and from other types of music becoming more popular than big band music. It became impossible under such circumstances to support and finance a 16-piece touring band.

The All Stars

Following a highly successful small-group jazz concert at New York Town Hall on May 17, 1947, featuring Armstrong with trombonist/singer Jack Teagarden, Armstrong's manager Joe Glaser dissolved the Armstrong big band on August 13, 1947 and established a six-piece small group featuring Armstrong with (initially) Teagarden, Earl Hines and other top swing and dixieland musicians, most of them ex-big band leaders. The new group was announced at the opening of Billy Berg's Supper Club.

This group was called Louis Armstrong and his All Stars and included at various times Earl "Fatha" Hines, Barney Bigard, Edmond Hall, Jack Teagarden, Trummy Young, Arvell Shaw, Billy Kyle, Marty Napoleon, Big Sid Catlett, Cozy Cole, Tyree Glenn, Barrett Deems and the Filipino-American percussionist, Danny Barcelona. During this period, Armstrong made many recordings and appeared in over thirty films. He was the first jazz musician to appear on the cover of Time Magazine on February 21, 1949.

In 1964, he recorded his biggest-selling record, "Hello, Dolly!" The song went to #1 on the pop chart, making Armstrong (age 63) the oldest person to ever accomplish that feat. In the process, Armstrong dislodged The Beatles from the #1 position they had occupied for 14 consecutive weeks with three different songs.

Armstrong kept up his busy tour schedule until a few years before his death in 1971. In his later years he would sometimes play some of his numerous gigs by rote, but other times would enliven the most mundane gig with his vigorous playing, often to the astonishment of his band. He also toured Africa, Europe, and Asia under sponsorship of the US State Department with great success, earning the nickname "Ambassador Satch." While failing health restricted his schedule in his last years, within those limitations he continued playing until the day he died.

Death

Armstrong died of a heart attack in his sleep on July 6, 1971, a month before his 70th birthday, and 11 months after playing a famous show at the Waldorf-Astoria's Empire Room. He was residing in Corona, Queens, New York City, at the time of his death. He was interred in Flushing Cemetery, Flushing, in Queens, New York City.

His honorary pallbearers included Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Pearl Bailey, Count Basie, Harry James, Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan, Earl Wilson, Alan King, Johnny Carson and David Frost. Peggy Lee sang The Lord's Prayer at the services while Al Hibbler sang "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" and Fred Robbins, a long-time friend, gave the eulogy.

Personality

Armstrong was a colorful character. His own biography vexes biographers and historians, because he had a habit of telling tales, particularly of his early childhood, when he was less scrutinized, and his embellishments of his history often lack consistency.

He was not only an entertainer. Armstrong was a leading personality of the day who was so beloved by a white-controlled America that gave even the greatest African American performers little access beyond their public celebrity, that he was able to privately live a life of access and privilege accorded to few other African Americans.

He tried to remain politically neutral, which gave him a large part of that access, but often alienated him from members of the African-American community who looked to him to use his prominence with white America to become more of an outspoken figure during the Civil Rights Era of U.S. history.

Nicknames

The nicknames Satchmo and Satch are short for Satchelmouth. Like many things in Armstrong's life, which was filled with colorful stories both real and imagined, many of his own telling, the nickname has many possible origins.

The most common tale that biographers tell is the story of Armstrong as a young boy dancing for pennies in the streets of New Orleans, who would scoop up the coins off of the streets and stick them into his mouth to avoid having the bigger children steal them from him. Someone dubbed him "satchel mouth" for his mouth acting as a satchel.

Early on he was also known as Dipper, short for Dippermouth, a reference to the piece Dippermouth Blues. and something of a riff on his unusual embouchure.

Armstrong and race

Armstrong was largely accepted into white society, both on stage and off, a privilege reserved for very few African-American public figures, and usually those of either exceptional talent and fair skin-tone. As his fame grew, so did his access to the finer things in life usually denied to a black man, even a famous one. His renown was such that he dined in the best restaurants and stayed in hotels usually exclusively for whites.

It was a power and privilege that he enjoyed, although he was very careful not to flaunt it with fellow performers of color, and privately, he shared what access that he could with friends and fellow musicians.

That still did not prevent members of the African-American community, particularly in the late 1950s to the early 1970s, from calling him an Uncle Tom, a black-on-black racial epithet for someone who kowtowed to white society at the expense of their own racial identity.

He was criticized for accepting the title of "King of The Zulus" for Mardi Gras in 1949. In the New Orleans African-American community it is an honored role as the head of leading black Carnival Krewe, but bewildering or offensive to outsiders with their traditional costume of grass-skirts and blackface makeup satirizing southern white attitudes.

Some musicians criticized Armstrong for playing in front of segregated audiences, and for not taking a strong enough stand in the civil rights movement.

Billie Holiday countered, however, "Of course Pops toms, but he toms from the heart."

The few exceptions made it more effective when he did speak out. Armstrong's criticism of President Eisenhower, calling him "two-faced" and "gutless" because of his inaction during the conflict over school desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957 made national news.

As a protest, Armstrong canceled a planned tour of the Soviet Union on behalf of the State Department saying "The way they're treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell" and that he could not represent his government abroad when it was in conflict with its own people. Six days after Armstrong's comments, Eisenhower ordered Federal troops to Little Rock to escort students into the school.

The FBI kept a file on Armstrong, for his outspokenness about integration.

Religion

When asked about his religion, Armstrong would answer that he was raised a Baptist, always wore a Star of David, and was friends with the Pope. Armstrong wore the Star of David in honor of the Karnofsky family, who took him in as a child and lent him the money to buy his first cornet. Louis Armstrong was, in fact, baptized as a Catholic at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in New Orleans, and he met popes Pius XII and Paul VI, though there is no evidence that he considered himself Catholic. Armstrong seems to have been tolerant towards various religions, but also found humor in them.

Personal habits

Purging

Armstrong was also greatly concerned with his health and bodily functions. He made frequent use of laxatives as a means of controlling his weight, a practice he advocated both to personal acquaintances and in the diet plans he published under the title Lose Weight the Satchmo Way. Armstrong's laxative of preference in his younger days was Pluto Water, but he then became an enthusiastic convert when he discovered the herbal remedy Swiss Kriss. He would extol its virtues to anyone who would listen and pass out packets to everyone he encountered, including members of the British Royal Family. (Armstrong also appeared in humorous, albeit risqué, cards that he had printed to send out to friends; the cards bore a picture of him sitting on a toilet—as viewed through a keyhole—with the slogan "Satch says, 'Leave it all behind ya!'") The cards have sometimes been incorrectly described as ads for Swiss Kriss.

In a live recording of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Velma Middleton, he changes the lyric from "Put another record on while I pour" to "Take some Swiss Kriss while I pour." The line, slightly garbled in the live recording, could just as likely be "Take some Swiss Miss while I pour"—Swiss Miss is a hot chocolate mix that would have been fairly new on the market in 1951. (The line comes at 1:04 in the song.)

Love of food

The concern with his health and weight was balanced by his love of food, reflected in such songs as "Cheesecake", "Cornet Chop Suey," though "Struttin’ with Some Barbecue" was written about a fine-looking companion, not about food. He kept a strong connection throughout his life to the cooking of New Orleans, always signing his letters, "Red beans and ricely yours..."

Writings

Armstrong’s gregariousness extended to writing. On the road, he wrote constantly, sharing favorite themes of his life with correspondents around the world. He avidly typed or wrote on whatever stationery was at hand, recording instant takes on music, sex, food, childhood memories, his heavy “medicinal” marijuana use—and even his bowel movements, which he gleefully described. He had a fondness for lewd jokes and dirty limericks as well.

Social organizations

Louis Armstrong was not, as is often claimed, a Freemason. Although he is usually listed as being a member of Montgomery Lodge No. 18 (Prince Hall) in New York, no such lodge has ever existed. Armstrong states in his autobiography, however, that he was a member of the Knights of Pythias, which is not a Masonic group.

Music

Horn playing and early jazz

In his early years, Armstrong was best known for his virtuosity with the cornet and trumpet. The greatest trumpet playing of his early years can be heard on his Hot Five and Hot Seven records, as well as the Red Onion Jazz Babies. The improvisations he made on these records of New Orleans jazz standards and popular songs of the day are unsurpassed by later jazz performers. The older generation of New Orleans jazz musicians often referred to their improvisations as "variating the melody." Armstrong's improvisations were daring and sophisticated for the time, while often subtle and melodic.

He often essentially re-composed pop-tunes he played, making them more interesting. Armstrong's playing is filled with joyous, inspired original melodies, creative leaps, and subtle relaxed or driving rhythms. The genius of these creative passages is matched by Armstrong's playing technique, honed by constant practice, which extended the range, tone and capabilities of the trumpet. In these records, Armstrong almost single-handedly created the role of the jazz soloist, taking what was essentially a collective folk music and turning it into an art form with tremendous possibilities for individual expression.

Armstrong's work in the 1920s shows him playing at the outer limits of his abilities. The Hot Five records, especially, often have minor flubs and missed notes, which do little to detract from listening enjoyment since the energy of the spontaneous performance comes through. By the mid 1930s, Armstrong achieved a smooth assurance, knowing exactly what he could do and carrying out his ideas to perfection.

He was one of the first artists to use recordings of his performances to improve himself. Armstrong was an avid audiophile. He had a large collection of recordings, including reel-to-reel tapes, which he took on the road with him in a trunk during his later career. He enjoyed listening to his own recordings, and comparing his performances musically. In the den of his home, he had the latest audio equipment and would sometimes rehearse and record along with his older recordings or the radio.

Vocal popularity

As his music progressed and popularity grew, his singing also became very important. Armstrong was not the first to record scat singing, but he was masterful at it and helped popularize it. He had a hit with his playing and scat singing on "Heebie Jeebies" when, according to some legends, the sheet music fell on the floor and he simply started singing nonsense syllables. Armstrong stated in his memoirs that this actually occurred. He also sang out "I done forgot the words" in the middle of recording "I'm A Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas."

Such records were hits and scat singing became a major part of his performances. Long before this, however, Armstrong was playing around with his vocals, shortening and lengthening phrases, interjecting improvisations, using his voice as creatively as his trumpet.

Colleagues and followers

During his long career he played and sang with some of the most important instrumentalists and vocalists of the time; among them were Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Earl Hines, the singing brakeman Jimmie Rodgers, Bessie Smith and perhaps most famously Ella Fitzgerald.

His influence upon Bing Crosby is particularly important with regard to the subsequent development of popular music: Crosby admired and copied Armstrong, as is evident on many of his early recordings, notably "Just One More Chance" (1931). The New Grove Dictionary Of Jazz describes Crosby's debt to Armstrong in precise detail, although it does not acknowledge Armstrong by name:

Armstrong recorded three albums with Ella Fitzgerald: Ella and Louis, Ella and Louis Again, and Porgy and Bess for Verve Records, with the sessions featuring the backing musicianship of the Oscar Peterson Trio and drummer Buddy Rich. His recordings Satch Plays Fats, all Fats Waller tunes, and Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy in the 1950s were perhaps among the last of his great creative recordings, but even oddities like Disney Songs the Satchmo Way are seen to have their musical moments. And, his participation in Dave Brubeck's high-concept jazz musical The Real Ambassadors was critically acclaimed. For the most part, however, his later output was criticized as being overly simplistic or repetitive.

Hits and later career

Armstrong had many hit records including "Stardust", "What a Wonderful World", "When The Saints Go Marching In", "Dream a Little Dream of Me", "Ain't Misbehavin'", "You Rascal You,"and "Stompin' at the Savoy." "We Have All the Time in the World" was featured on the soundtrack of the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and enjoyed renewed popularity in the UK in 1994 when it featured on a Guinness advert. It reached number 3 in the charts on being re-released.

In 1964, Armstrong knocked the Beatles off the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Hello, Dolly!", which gave the 63-year-old performer a U.S. record as the oldest artist to have a number one song. His 1964 song, "Bout Time" was later featured in the film "Bewitched" (2005).

Armstrong performed in Italy at the 1968 Sanremo Music Festival where he sang "Mi Va di Cantare" alongside his friend, the Eritrean-born Italian singer Lara Saint Paul. In February 1968, he also appeared with Lara Saint Paul on the Italian RAI television channel where he performed "Grassa e Bella," a track he sang in Italian for the Italian market and C.D.I. label.

In 1968, Armstrong scored one last popular hit in the United Kingdom with the highly sentimental pop song "What a Wonderful World", which topped the British charts for a month; however, the single did not chart at all in America. The song gained greater currency in the popular consciousness when it was used in the 1987 movie Good Morning, Vietnam, its subsequent rerelease topping many charts around the world. Armstrong even appeared on the October 28, 1970 Johnny Cash Show, where he sang Nat "King" Cole's hit "Rambling Rose" and joined Cash to re-create his performance backing Jimmie Rodgers on "Blue Yodel #9".

Stylistic range

Armstrong enjoyed many types of music, from blues to the arrangements of Guy Lombardo, to Latin American folksongs, to classical symphonies and opera. Armstrong incorporated influences from all these sources into his performances, sometimes to the bewilderment of fans who wanted Armstrong to stay in convenient narrow categories. Armstrong was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence. Some of his solos from the 1950s, such as the hard rocking version of "St. Louis Blues" from the WC Handy album, show that the influence went in both directions.

Literature, radio, films and TV

Armstrong appeared in more than a dozen Hollywood films, usually playing a band leader or musician. His most familiar role was as the bandleader cum narrator in the 1956 musical, High Society, in which he sang the title song and performed a duet with Bing Crosby on "Now You Has Jazz". In 1947, he played himself in the movie New Orleans opposite Billie Holiday, which chronicled the demise of the Storyville district and the ensuing exodus of musicians from New Orleans to Chicago. In the 1959 film, The Five Pennies (the story of the cornetist Red Nichols), he played himself as well as singing and playing several classic numbers, including a remarkable duet with Danny Kaye of When the Saints Go Marching In during which Kaye does a brilliant impersonation of Armstrong. He also had a part in the film alongside James Stewart in "The Glenn Miller Story" in which Glenn (played by Stewart) went along to Connies Inn and had a jam session with him and a few other noted musicians of the time, Louis sang "Basin St. Blues"..

He was the first African American to host a nationally broadcast radio show in the 1930s. In 1969, Armstrong had a cameo role in the film version of Hello, Dolly! as the bandleader, Louis, to which he sang the title song with actress Barbra Streisand. His solo recording of "Hello, Dolly!" is one of his most recognizable performances. He was heard on such radio programs as The Story of Swing (1937) and This Is Jazz (1947), and he also made countless television appearances, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, including appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Armstrong has a record star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7601 Hollywood Boulevard.

Many of Armstrong's recordings remain popular. Almost four decades since his passing, a larger number of his recordings from all periods of his career are more widely available than at any time during his lifetime. His songs are broadcast and listened to every day throughout the world, and are honored in various movies, TV series, commercials, and even anime and computer games. "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" was included in the computer game Fallout 2, accompanying the intro cinematic. It was also used in the 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle and the 2005 film Lord of War. His 1923 recordings, with Joe Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band, continue to be listened to as documents of ensemble style New Orleans jazz, but more particularly as ripper jazz records in their own right. All too often, however, Armstrong recorded with stiff, standard orchestras leaving only his sublime trumpet playing as of interest. "Melancholy Blues," performed by Armstrong and his Hot Seven was included on the Voyager Golden Record sent into outer space to represent one of the greatest achievements of humanity. Most familiar to modern listeners is his ubiquitous rendition of "What a Wonderful World". In 2008, Armstrong's recording of Edith Piaf's famous "La Vie En Rose" was used in a scene of the popular Disney/Pixar film WALL-E. The song was also used in parts, especially the opening trumpets, in the French Film Jeux d'enfants (English: Love Me If You Dare)

Argentine writer Julio Cortázar, a self-described Armstrong admirer, asserted that a 1952 Louis Armstrong concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris played a significant role in inspiring him to create the fictional creatures called Cronopios that are the subject of a number of Cortázar's short stories. Cortázar once called Armstrong himself "Grandísimo Cronopio" (Most Enormous Cronopio).

Armstrong appears as a minor character in Harry Turtledove's Southern Victory Series. When he and his band escape from a Nazi-like Confederacy, they enhance the insipid mainstream music of the North. A young Armstrong also appears as a minor character in Patrick Neate's 2001 novel Twelve Bar Blues, part of which is set in New Orleans, and which was a winner at that year's Whitbread Book Awards.

There is a pivotal scene in 1980's Stardust Memories in which Woody Allen is overwhelmed by a recording of Armstrong's Stardust and experiences a nostalgic epiphany. The combination of the music and the perfect moment is the catalyst for much of the film's action, prompting the protagonist to fall in love with an ill-advised woman.

Armstrong is referred to in The Trumpet of the Swan along with Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Three siblings in the film are named Louis, Billie, and Ella. The main character, Louis, plays a trumpet, an obvious nod to Armstrong. In the original E. B. White book, he is referred to by name, by a child who hears Louis playing and comments, "He sounds just like Louis Armstrong, the famous trumpet player."

In the 2009 Disney Film The Princess and the Frog, one of the supporting characters is a trumpet-playing alligator named Louis. During the song "When I'm Human", Louis sings a line and it says "Y'all heard of Louis Armstrong".

Awards and honors

Grammy Awards

Armstrong was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972 by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.

{| class=wikitable |- | colspan="6" style="text-align:center;" | Grammy Award |- ! Year ! Category ! Title ! Genre ! Label ! Result |- align=center | 1964 | Male Vocal Performance | "Hello, Dolly!" | Pop | Kapp | Winner |}

Grammy Hall of Fame

Recordings of Armstrong were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."

{| class=wikitable |- | colspan="6" style="text-align:center;" | Grammy Hall of Fame |- ! Year Recorded ! Title ! Genre ! Label ! Year Inducted ! Notes |- align=center | 1929 | "St. Louis Blues" | Jazz (Single) | OKeh | 2008 |with Bessie Smith |- align=center | 1928 | "Weather Bird" | Jazz (Single) | OKeh | 2008 | with Earl Hines |- align=center | 1930 | "Blue Yodel #9(Standing on the Corner)" | Country (Single) | Victor | 2007 | Jimmie Rodgers (Featuring Louis Armstrong) |- align=center | 1932 | "All of Me" | Jazz (Single) | Columbia | 2005 | |- align=center | 1958 | Porgy and Bess | Jazz (Album) | Verve | 2001 | with Ella Fitzgerald |- align=center | 1964 | "Hello Dolly!" | Pop (Single) | Kapp | 2001 | |- align=center | 1926 | "Heebie Jeebies" | Jazz (Single) | OKeh | 1999 | |- align=center | 1968 | "What a Wonderful World" | Jazz (Single) | ABC | 1999 | |- align=center | 1955 | "Mack the Knife" | Jazz (Single) | Columbia | 1997 | |- align=center | 1925 | "St. Louis Blues" | Jazz (Single) | Columbia | 1993 | Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong, cornet |- align=center | 1928 | "West End Blues" | Jazz (Single) | OKeh | 1974 | |}

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed Armstrong's West End Blues on the list of 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.

{| class=wikitable |- ! Year Recorded ! Title ! Label ! Group |- align=center | 1928 | West End Blues | Okeh | Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five |}

Inductions and honors

In 1995, the U.S. Post Office issued a Louis Armstrong 32 cents commemorative postage stamp.

{| class=wikitable |- ! Year Inducted ! Title ! Results ! Notes |- align=center | 2007 | Louisiana Music Hall of Fame | | |- align=center | 2007 | Gennett Records Walk of Fame, Richmond, Indiana | | |- align=center | 2007 | Long Island Music Hall of Fame | | |- align=center | 2004 | Nesuhi Ertegün Jazz Hall of Fameat Jazz at Lincoln Center | | |- align=center | 1990 | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | | Early influence |- align=center | 1978 | Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame | | |- align=center | 1952 | Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame | | |- align=center | 1960 | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Star | at 7601 Hollywood Blvd. |}

Legacy

The house where Louis Armstrong lived for close to 28 years was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977 and is now a museum. The Louis Armstrong House Museum, at 34-56 107th Street (between 34th and 37th Avenues) in Corona, Queens, presents concerts and educational programs, operates as a historic house museum and makes materials in its archives of writings, books, recordings and memorabilia available to the public for research. The museum is operated by the City University of New York's Queens College, following the dictates of Lucille Armstrong's will.

The museum opened to the public on October 15, 2003. A visitors center is currently being planned, and estimated to open in 2011.

The influence of Armstrong on the development of jazz is virtually immeasurable. Yet, his irrepressible personality both as a performer, and as a public figure later in his career, was so strong that to some it sometimes overshadowed his contributions as a musician and singer.

As a virtuoso trumpet player, Armstrong had a unique tone and an extraordinary talent for melodic improvisation. Through his playing, the trumpet emerged as a solo instrument in jazz and is used widely today. He was a masterful accompanist and ensemble player in addition to his extraordinary skills as a soloist. With his innovations, he raised the bar musically for all who came after him.

Though Armstrong is widely recognized as a pioneer of scat singing, Ethel Waters precedes his scatting on record in the 1930s according to Gary Giddins and others. Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra are just two singers who were greatly indebted to him. Holiday said that she always wanted Bessie Smith's 'big' sound and Armstrong's feeling in her singing.

On August 4, 2001, the centennial of Armstrong's birth, New Orleans's airport was renamed Louis Armstrong International Airport in his honor.

In 2002, the Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings (1925–1928) are preserved in the United States National Recording Registry, a registry of recordings selected yearly by the National Recording Preservation Board for preservation in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

The US Open tennis tournament's former main stadium was named Louis Armstrong Stadium in honor of Armstrong who had lived a few blocks from the site.

Today, there are many bands worldwide dedicated to preserving and honoring the music and style of Satchmo, including the Louis Armstrong Society located in New Orleans, LA.

Discography

Louis Armstrong albums

Louis Armstrong songs

Notes

References

Armstrong, Louis. Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans. ISBN 0-306-80276-7

Armstrong, Louis and Thomas Brothers. Armstrong, in His Own Words: Selected Writings. ISBN 0-19-514046-X

Bergreen, Laurence "Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life" ISBN 0-553-06768-0

Brothers, Thomas "Louis Armstrong's New Orleans" ISBN 0-393-06109-4

Cogswell, Michael. Armstrong: The Offstage Story. ISBN 1-888054-81-6

Elie, Lolis Eric. A Letter from New Orleans. Originally printed in Gourmet. Reprinted in Best Food Writing 2006, Edited by Holly Hughes, ISBN 1-56924-287-9

Jones Max and John Chilton. Louis Armstrong Story. ISBN 0-306-80324-0

Meckna, Michael. Satchmo: The Louis Armstrong Encyclopedia. ISBN 0-313-30137-9

Video clips

"Now You Has Jazz"

"Blueberry Hill"

"Stompin' At The Savoy" Germany, 1959

"Tiger Rag"

"C'est si bon 1962

"Dream a Little Dream" photo slide show

"Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra - The Birth of The Blues" - The Edsel Show

External links

louis-armstrong.net - Sony BMG Music Entertainment

Louis Armstrong by Nat Hentoff

Obituary, NY Times

Quotes and tributes

Discography

Filmography @ imdb.com

The Louis Armstrong Society Jazz Band

Louis Armstrong: A Life in Music - slideshow by Life magazine

Seeing Black jazz critic on the Uncle Tom question

the official website of the Louis Armstrong House & Archives

"Louis Armstrong Transcription Project - john p birchall"

Louis Armstrong at pbskids.org

David Margolick, The Day Louis Armstrong Made Noise

Smithsonian Louis Armstrong: A Cultural Legacy

Louis Armstrong at NPR Music

Louis Armstrong in Athens, Blog of the Digital Library of Georgia

Louis Armstrong: discography and early recordings (Real Player format) on the Red Hot Jazz website.

Milestone Louis Armstrong recordings at Three Perfect Minutes

Louis Armstrong's autobiography online book

* "Satchmo - My Life in New Orleans(1954)" free download

*"Satchmo - My Life in New Orleans" another website

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1901 births Category:1971 deaths Category:ABC Records artists Category:African American brass musicians Category:African American singers Category:American buskers Category:American jazz cornetists Category:American jazz singers Category:American jazz trumpeters Category:Burials at Flushing Cemetery Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in New York Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Decca Records artists Category:Dixieland bandleaders Category:Dixieland singers Category:Dixieland trumpeters Category:Gennett recording artists Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Jazz bandleaders Category:Jazz musicians from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:MGM Records artists Category:Musicians from Louisiana Category:Okeh Records artists Category:People from Corona, Queens Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Swing bandleaders Category:Swing singers Category:Swing trumpeters Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:Vocal jazz musicians Category:Vocalion Records artists Category:Performing arts pages with videographic documentation

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Coordinates	38°37′38″N90°11′52″N
name	Jon Jay
width	280
team	St. Louis Cardinals
number	19
position	Outfielder
birth date	March 15, 1985
birth place	Miami, Florida
bats	Left
throws	Left
debutdate	April 26
debutyear	2010
debutteam	St. Louis Cardinals
statyear	May 30, 2011
stat1label	Batting average
stat1value	.312
stat2label	Home runs
stat2value	8
stat3label	Runs batted in
stat3value	40

Jonathan Henry Jay (born March 15, 1985 in Miami, Florida) is an outfielder who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is nicknamed "The Founding Father" due to the fact that he often starts off innings with hits and also shares the name of the famous American revolutionary. He was drafted by the Cardinals out of the University of Miami in the second round (74th overall) of the 2006 MLB Draft.

Jay made his Major League debut on April 26, 2010. He struck out on three pitches against Tim Hudson.

References

External links

Jay player profile page at Scout.com

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Miami Hurricanes baseball players Category:Springfield Cardinals players Category:Memphis Redbirds players Category:St. Louis Cardinals players

fr:Jon Jay ja:ジョン・ジェイ (野球)

Coordinates	38°37′38″N90°11′52″N
Name	Louis Joseph Lambert, Jr.
Office	Louisiana State Senator from District 18 (parts of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes)
Term start	1994
Term end	2004
Preceded	Joseph A. Sevario, III
Succeeded	Jody Amedee
Office2	Louisiana State Senator from Ascension, Livingston, and St. James parishes
Term start2	1972
Term end2	1974
Preceded2	George T. Oubre
Succeeded2	Ralph Falsetta
Office3	Louisiana Public Service Commissioner from Baton Rouge-based District 3
Term start3	1974
Term end3	1992
Preceded3	New position
Succeeded3	Irma Muse Dixon
Office4	Member of Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors
Term start4	2002
Term end4	June 1, 2008
Birth date	December 21, 1940
Spouse	Mary Gayle S. Lambert
Party	Democrat
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Christian
Education1	}}

Louis Joseph Lambert, Jr. (born December 21, 1940), is a Louisiana attorney, businessman, former member and chairman of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, and a former Louisiana state senator.

Lambert, while serving on the PSC, lost the 1979 gubernatorial race to Republican U.S. Representative David C. Treen, then of Jefferson Parish in the Third Congressional District. A switch of 4,979 votes out of nearly 1.4 million cast, however, would have made Lambert governor by a one-vote margin. Lambert was the first Louisiana Democrat to lose to a Republican candidate in a statewide general election, popularly called the runoff.

Lambert represented District 18 in the Louisiana State Senate from 1994 until 2004. His district encompassed parts of East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes. He lives in Prairieville (Ascension Parish) with his wife, Mary Gayle S. Lambert.

Lambert was to have been a major candidate in the November 4, 2008, general election for District Attorney in the 23rd Judicial District, which encompasses Ascension, Assumption, and St. James parishes. He faced a fellow Democrat, assistant district attorney Ricky Babin (born ca. 1962). In the October 4 jungle primary, Babin received 11,540 votes (34.8 percent) to Lambert's 9,370 votes (28.3 percent). Citing political divisiveness in the lengthy campaign, Lambert withdrew from the race, and Babin won by default.

Education and community involvement

Lambert graduated from the Capital Page School in Washington, D.C., and attended the St. Amant School in St. Amant in Ascension Parish. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and his law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans.

Lambert is a retired captain in the Louisiana National Guard. He is a member of the Ascension Chamber of Commerce, the East Ascension Sportsman League, creator and volunteer Chairman of the Board of the River Region Cancer Clinic, and is the creator and volunteer Chairman of the Board of The River Parishes Community College in Sorrento. Louis is a Christian.

Constitutional convention delegate, 1973

Lambert was elected on a nonpartisan ballot in the summer of 1972 as a delegate to the state constitutional convention, which met in Baton Rouge during 1973. The convention produced a new governing document for the state, which voters handily approved in 1974. Lambert in fact was chairman of the convention.

Public Service Commissioner Lambert

Lambert began his political career as the Gonzales town attorney. Then in the 1971-1972 election cycle, he won a state Senate seat which then included Ascension, Livingston, and St. James parishes. At the age of thirty-one, he succeeded state Senator George T. Oubre, who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in the Democratic primary. (The position went to William J. Guste, Jr., of New Orleans.)

However, Lambert resigned halfway through that Senate term (when he had also been a constitutional convention delegate) after his election to the PSC. The regulatory body expanded from three to five members under the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 which Lambert helped to write. Lambert won District 3 based about Baton Rouge.

Lambert was chairman of the PSC for several terms. For a time, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Lafayette, who was elected as the state's first woman governor in 2003, was the PSC vice-chairman during one term when Lambert was chairman. She served on the PSC from 1988 to 1996.

In his last election to the PSC in 1986, Lambert defeated the Republican Archie Mollere by the lopsided margin of 171,872 (86 percent) to 28,420 (14 percent). Lambert was succeeded on the PSC by its first African-American member, Irma Muse Dixon.

Winning a general election slot, 1979

Lambert eyed the 1979 gubernatorial race with confidence and perhaps with history on his side. Three previous governors had served on the PSC prior to their gubernatorial victories: Huey Pierce Long, Jr., Jimmie Houston "Jimmie" Davis, and John Julian McKeithen. Lambert sought to succeed two-term-limited Governor Edwin Washington Edwards. Republican David Treen led the balloting against the divided field of Democrats but was far short of an outright majority.

Lambert faced a legal challenge to secure his general election berth. Then Lieutenant Governor James Edward Fitzmorris, Jr., of New Orleans had initially led for the second spot, but when a retabulation put Lambert ahead of Fitzmorris by some 2,500 votes, Fitzmorris went to court. He alleged that Lambert had benefited from fraudulent votes in certain parishes as well as improper counting procedures. State District Judge Douglas Gonzalez of Baton Rouge, a Republican, said in the hearing brought about by Fitzmorris' suit that he sympathized with the lieutenant governor's position. However, Gonzalez found that Fitzmorris had not located sufficient numbers of questionable votes for Lambert to put Fitzmorris, rather than Lambert, into the general election.

The disappointed Fitzmorris and three other major Democratic gubernatorial candidates all endorsed Treen: Secretary of State Paul J. Hardy, originally from St. Martinville, state Senator Edgar G. "Sonny" Mouton, Jr., of Lafayette, and outgoing House Speaker Edgerton L. "Bubba" Henry of Jonesboro in Jackson Parish in north Louisiana. Lambert seemed to stand alone while his four major intraparty rivals backing the Republican choice for governor.

Lambert's gubernatorial campaign

"I have always run against the politicians, the power brokers, and the political bosses," Lambert said. He predicted that his state's overwhelming Democratic registration would provide him with a margin of victory despite the defection of prominent individuals to the Treen camp.

Lambert won the support of Governor Edwards and former Governor John Julian McKeithen, who had supported Hardy in the primary. Some, however, speculated that Edwards did not mind that Treen won the election because Edwards wanted to challenge a "Governor Treen" in the 1983 jungle primary for his own potential third term.

One of the surprises of the campaign was that Lambert ran well in north Louisiana, winning more than a dozen parishes which had supported Treen in his earlier 1972 campaign against Edwards, such as Morehouse and Webster parishes. Treen dominated the suburban parishes around Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Lambert's weakness, however, was to the west of his home base: Acadiana, where Treen ran strongly in Lafayette and the sugar parishes. Factions which had supported Hardy and Mouton in the primary agreed to work for Treen. In an appearance in Lafayette, Treen told the Acadiana audience that his campaign reached across party, racial, and geographic lines. Mouton, who had been an Edwards loyalist, said at the rally: "Did you ever think you would see this sight -- a bunch of Acadiana Democrats cheering a Republican?"

Treen finished with 690,691 (50.3 percent) to Lambert's 681,134 (49.7 percent). Treen won only 22 of the 64 parishes in victory, whereas he had carried 27 parishes in defeat in 1972. Only ten parishes supported Treen in both 1972 and 1979, including Caddo, Ouachita, Lincoln, Bossier, and East Baton Rogue parishes. Treen's victory is attributed to his Acadiana margins -- Lafayette, Iberia, Terrebonne, Acadia and St. Martin parishes, where he overcame huge deficits from 1972 to win in 1979.

Lambert blamed his defeat principally on Fitzmorris' lawsuit: "If it hadn't been for that lawsuit, I would have beat him 55 percent to 45 percent." Lambert never again sought statewide office. He remained a public service commissioner until 1992.

Returning to the state Senate, 1994

In 1994, Lambert returned to the state Senate, when the longtime incumbent Joseph E. Sevario, III, resigned. Lambert won the special election over his fellow Democrat "Jeff" Diez, 9,068 (57 percent) to 6,965 (43 percent). He was reelected in 1995 over the Republican Kirk T. Harrison, 37,876 (80 percent) to 9,655 (20 percent). Unopposed in 1999, Lambert did not seek another term in 2003.

Lambert was chairman of the Senate Environmental Committee. He worked closely with Republican Senator Robert J. Barham of Oak Ridge in Morehouse Parish on various environmental questions, including the preservation of the state's shrinking wetlands. Lambert, loyal Democrat, even donated to Barham's unsuccessful congressional campaign in 2002.

In 2002, Lambert was appointed as one of the sixteen members of the prestigious Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors by Republican Governor Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr. Lambert and Foster had been state senators together during 1995. The six-year term on the LSU board ends on June 1, 2008.

References

Shreveport Journal, November 27, December 4, 5, 10, 1979

Shreveport Times, December 10, 1979

http://www.lsusystem.lsu.edu/boardofsupermembers.html#lambert

Members of Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2004 (Baton Rouge: Secretary of State)

http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms2&rqsdta;=092786

http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms3&rqsdta;=102195

http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms3&rqsdta;=111503

http://www.enlou.com/officeholders/senatedistrict18.htm

http://capitolwatch.reallouisiana.com/html/EAD58C18-6C6A-4A5A-8755-3375A8193DE6.shtml

Category:1940 births Category:Louisiana lawyers Category:Louisiana Democrats Category:Louisiana State Senators Category:People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Category:Louisiana State University alumni Category:Living people Category:Members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission Category:People from Ascension Parish, Louisiana

pt:Louis Lambert vo:Louis Lambert