Known as the "Queen of Happiness," Florence Mills was a popular African American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian known for her effervescent stage presence, delicate voice, and winsome, wide-eyed beauty. A daughter of former slaves Nellie (Simon) and John Winfrey, she was born Florence Winfrey in Washington, D.C., on January 25, 1896 and died in New York City, New York, on November 1, 1927. Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia. ... January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair and photographed by Bassano and Edward Steichen, she was best known for her renditions of "I'm a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird" and "I'm Cravin' for that Kind of Love." She starred in acclaimed reviews in London, Paris, Ostend, Liverpool, and other European venues. For other meanings, see vogue. ... American actress Demi Moore, on a typical Vanity Fair cover (August, 1991) Vanity Fair is a glossy American glamour magazine monthly that offers a mixture of articles based on sensational exaggerations, jet-set and entertainment-business personalities, politics, and lies. ... Bassano or Bassan (Hebrew: בַּאסַאנוֹ, Standard Tiberian ;) is a Jewish surname derived probably from arabic name Bassan, elegant. ... Edward Steichen (March 27, 1879-March 25, 1973) was an American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator, born in Luxembourg. ...

From 1921 until her death in 1927, she was married to Ulysses "Slow Kid" Thompson, whom she met in 1917 as the dancing conductor of a black jazz band known as the Tennessee Ten.

She died of complications of appendicitis. Appendicitis, or epityphlitis, is a condition characterised by inflammation of the appendix. ...

After her death, Duke Ellington memorialized Mills in his song "Black Beauty." A definitive biography of her life is available - "Florence Mills Harlem Jazz Queen" see http://www.scarecrowpress.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0810850079# (ISBN 0-8108-5007-9) A web site dedicated to her can be seen at: [1] She was also a member of the "Blue Gills" group which made her the great singer who she was. Then at the start of her career a man named tucan duggly introduced her into the media. Word spread about her powerful voice! She too can stand up. In her later years Florence went to kingskill high school . And she had also written a few poems Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974), also known simply as Duke (see Jazz royalty), was an American jazz composer, pianist, and bandleader. ...