Welcome to the History Tricks, where Annie resemblance to a boring old history lesson is purely coincidental.

And here is your 30-second summary.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who dreamed of being a dancer.

She came to a fork in the road and the past she chose made all the difference.

From a life on the street, she rose to hobnob with kings, dukes, counts, and the chairman of the board.

She's now known to all as the first lady of songs.

Let's talk about Ella Fitzgerald.

Let's first drop her into history.

In 1917, the Russian Revolution breaks out and Zara Nicholas II abdicated the throne.

Jeanette Rankin became the first woman member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

And on exactly the same day that that happened, President Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany.

That was a big day. It was April 2nd.

A few days later, of course, the U.S. entered World War I.

That year, the raggedy and doll was invented.

The British royal family changed its last name from hand over to Windsor.

The New York State gave women the right to vote.

In 1917, the first jazz record is made in New York.

And it was from the original Dixieland Jazz Band, but they still jazzed J.A.S. House.

And ironically, on April 25th, 1917, Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia.

Okay, so Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born to William and Temperance, but she was called Tempe.

I love that name.

It is, it's cute.

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