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Birth
On September 24, 1896, Francis Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota to Mary McQuillan and Edward Fitzgerald. -
Newman School
After attending the St. Paul academy, Francis went to the Newman School in New Jersey where he developed his interest in literature. He graduated in 1913 and then went on to Princeton, staying in the same state. -
The Romantic Egotist
Fitzgerald dropped out of Princeton, and joined the fight for America in World War I with the U.S. Army. He then wrote a novel, The Romantic Egotist, in fear he wouldn't get a chance to write before dying in warfare. The novel was rejected by Charles Scribner's Sons, the publisher, although they did compliment his writing. -
This Side of Paradise
Fitzgerald returned from war, and was engaged to a young woman, Zelda Sayre, who broke the engagement due to his lack of wealth. He went back to St. Paul to write his next novel, This Side of Paradise, which began his fame as a young writer. -
Zelda Sayre
Once Fitzgerald acquired his fame as a writer, he married Zelda Sayre and had a daughter named Frances. -
The Beautiful and Damned
Fitzgerald's next book, The Beautiful and the Damned, captured the rising culture in America, the Jazz Age. He wrote it in New York City after a year of his marriage with Zelda. -
The Great Gatsby
In 1924, Fitzgerald moved to Valescure, France where he wrote The Great Gatsby. It was published in 1925, and is known as his greatest novel. -
The Aftermath
The Fitzgeralds returned to America in Wilmington, Delaware in 1927. They then went back and forth between America and France, and Zelda suffered from mental breakdowns. -
Switzerland
Zelda Fitzgerald experimented in ballet, which led to problems in her mental health. She found treatment at a clinic in Switzerland, and Francis wrote short stories to pay for her medical bills. -
To America, Again
In 1931, the family returned to America once more. Francis rented a house in Montgomery, where Zelda sought mental treatment in Baltimore. She became a patient at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and wrote her own biography in 1932, Save Me The Waltz. -
"The Crack-Up"
While Zelda was in the hospital, Fitzgerald stopped supporting his daughter, became drunk and sick, and stopped writing as much. He hopped between Asheville, NC hotels and then went to California. Francis even fell in love with another woman, Sheilah Graham. -
Death
Fitzgerald died on December 21, 1940 of a heart attack. He was working on a novel at his time of death. His wife later died in a hospital fire eight years later.
