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Born on September 24th, 1896 in St. Paul, MN
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He went to college at Princeton but was not very focused on his studies. He really just wanted to write for the college newspaper.
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In 1917 after leaving Princeton he joined the Army.
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1918 He is stationed at Camp Sheraton and meets Zelda Slayer.
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In 1919 he moves to NYC to make money in order to marry Zelda, however she calls it off due to him having a small salary. I July of that year he begins rewriting his 1st novel “This Side of Paradise” and it was picked up in September of that year. In December he started writing short stories for the “Saturday Evening Post”.
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1920 his 1st novel is published and shortly after he marries Zelda.
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In 1921 Zelda became pregnant. They went back to St. Paul to have their baby. Frances Scott Fitzgerald was born the end of 1921
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1922 the family moved to Great Neck, Long Island to be close to Broadway. Fitzgerald had written a play called “The Vegetable”. It was not a success and closed shortly after opening.
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1924 The family moves to France. Fitzgerald begins writing “The Great Gatsby”. Unfortunately sells were low and in 1926 they returned to America.
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While in America Zelda started learning to dance. She wanted to be a professional. In 1929 they moved back to France so she could work with a dance company, she ended up suffering an injury which was damaging to her health. The next year she had a breakdown and was institutionalized.
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In 1931 the family returns to America. Zelda has another breakdown and is sent to John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Fitzgerald continues writing short stories to pay for the treatment.
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In 1934 he wrote his novel “Tender is the Night”. It very much mirrored his personal life at that time.
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1936-1937 he called these the crackup year. He felt like a failure and was becoming an alcoholic. He had to send his daughter to boarding school because he couldn’t provide a home for her.
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Summer of 1937 he moved to Hollywood to be a screen writer for MGM and then started to become a freelance writer.
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In 1939 Fitzgerald began writing his final novel. He didn’t finish it. He had a heart attack and died on December 21st, 1940. He died thinking he was a failure, but in 1950 “The Great Gatsby” was republished and sold very well. F. Scott Fitzgerald is considered one the the best writers of the 20th century.
