-
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (also known as F. Scott Fitzgerald) is born.
He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota near the turn of the century. -
Fitzgerald's Father is fired from a job.
This event made his father, Edwin, a "failure for the rest of his days" This was a turning point for Fitzgerald because he knew that he wanted to never be "a failure" like his father. -
Scott Fitzgerald is accepted to Princeton.
He tried playing football there but he was cut for being too small. He ended up joining the Princeton Theatre Troupe. He wrote himself as the star of a lot of plays/musicals and even dressed in drag in the plays he was in. During his time there he also began his problems with drinking as well. He ended up leaving after a break-up and failing out of his classes. -
Scott Fitzgerald joins WWI.
After flunking out of school, Fitzgerald wanted to try and redeem himself and become "heroic and great". While overseas he met a Zelda, a beautiful girl that all the other men wanted. He hadn't gone to combat yet. -
Fitzgerald is done with Army.
The armistice is signed to end the war before Fitzgerald could ever fight, which he felt was another major failure in his life. When he was discharged, he proposed to Zelda and she accepted. He moved to New York and got a writing job at an advertising company before Zelda. She broke off the engagement for a while because she didn't think he was making enough money which sent him on a drinking binge. -
Fitzgerald publishes his first book.
His first novel "This Side of Paradise" was published and was sold out in a very short amount of time. It was a romanticized version of his short time in college. He became very famous. -
Fitzgerald marries Zelda.
The couple got married after the rapid success of his first book. They were at every party and loved the self-indulgent nature of the Roaring 20's. -
Fitzgerald and Zelda have their first and only child.
Frances Scott Fitzgerald was born to Scott and Zelda in late 1921. She was called "Scottie" and they loved her dearly. The Fitzgeralds still lived an extravagant lifestyle after her birth. To afford this, Scott Fitzgerald wrote short stories but he loved writing novels more. -
Fitzgerald writes his second novel.
He wrote his next book called, "The Beautiful and Damned." It was about a happy couple who drank and fought and then "self-destructed". People around them thought that it was about Zelda and Scott's marriage. -
Fitzgerald publishes "The Great Gatsby".
About a year after moving to Europe, Fitzgerald published "The Great Gatsby". This was after he had been drinking a lot and Zelda became involved with other men. When the book first came out, it wasn't as well-received as his first two novels. -
Zelda is diagnosed with schizophrenia.
After the "Roaring 20's" ended, the good times ended too. Fitzgerald and his daughter watched his wife start to become "crazy". She was diagnosed with schizophrenia. They tried to find a cure but they couldn't. Fitzgerald tried to help her but he had to accept that she may never be better. During this time, Fitzgerald was trying to write his fourth novel. -
Fitzgerald publishes fourth book.
His fourth book was called "Tender Is The Night" which failed. His alcoholism became worse after this and watching his wife "go crazy" made him worse too. -
Fitzgerald moves to Hollywood to become a screenwriter.
After he hit his absolute rock bottom the year before, he was offered a place in Hollywood to write as a screenwriter. He met a younger woman named Sheilah Graham, whom he had fallen for. He still stayed with Zelda because he still loved her, even though she wasn't getting better. -
Fitzgerald writes "The Last Tycoon".
After having a hard time with alcoholism in Hollywood, Fitzgerald went back to writing novels. He wanted to finish his book "The Last Tycoon" because he was in bad health(due to his alcoholism) and he felt he was "fighting against time and his body". -
Fitzgerald dies.
Fitzgerald died from a massive heart attack on December 21, 1940 at 44 years old. -
Fitzgerald is buried in Union Cemetery in Rockville, MD.
He was buried where his family lived. Only a few people were at his funeral. Zelda couldn't even come because she was so sick. -
Zelda Fitzgerald dies.
Zelda got trapped in a horrible fire in the hospital she was staying in. She died in that fire at the age of 48. She was buried next to her husband. -
Fitzgerald is rediscovered and his books begin to sell again.
Posthumously his books have sold a lot more than when he was alive. He was rediscovered by people in the 1950s and his novels began to sell a lot, putting his mark on American literature.
