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Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, named after the author of "The Star Spangled Banner," was born into an upper-middle class family on 24 September 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Source: http://www.online-literature.com/fitzgerald/ -
The Wright Brothers invented the planes, which would later be used worldwide for warfare and transportation. The first module flew for its first time on 1903. Source: https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
During 1911-1913 he attended the Newman School, a Catholic prep school in New Jersey, where he met Father Sigourney Fay, who encouraged his ambitions for personal distinction and achievement. -
Henry Ford used the first conveyor belt-based assembly-line ever in his car factory, which substantially increased production speed, and revolutionized many industries. Source: https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
In 1913 he entered Princeton University and his love of theater came to the fore--he wrote many scripts for the Princeton Triangle Club's musicals including "Fie! Fie! Fi-Fi! (1914)." He also had stories printed in The Princeton Tiger and the Nassau Literary Magazine. Source: http://www.online-literature.com/fitzgerald/ -
The first global conflict of the planet forced millions to leave their homes and fight for their country. Source: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/world-war-i-ends
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While on academic probation at Princeton, Fitzgerald enlisted in the army in 1917. In June 1918, he was assigned to a camp near Montgomery, Alabama, where he met and fell in love with Zelda Sayre, his future wife. Source: https://library.missouri.edu/news/special-collections/f-scott-fitzgerald-and-the-great-gatsby -
F. Scott Fitzgerald described 1920s America as the Jazz Age - an era of speakeasies, short haircuts and dresses, and jazz. Thanks to the end of the war, America went through a cultural revolution of sorts, and with the various illegal speakeasies running throughout the country at the time, jazz workers found easy work playing in those establishments. Sources:
https://historylearning.com/modern-world-history/america-1918/1920s-america/
americanlituratureproject.weebly.com/jazz-age.html -
Alcohol was outlawed during World War I, and an amendment was passed to make its ban permanent. Its justification was that it would decrease crime and increase worker productivity. When the opposite happened, and the government realized that wasting millions of dollars enforcing this law was not worth it, the amendment was repealed in 1933.
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On March 26, 1920, Fitzgerald published his first book, "This Side of Paradise," which immediately launched him to fame and fortune at the age of 23. Sources:
http://fscottfitzgeraldsociety.org/about-us-2/biography/
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/f-scott-fitzgeralds-first-novel-published -
Fitzgerald's own tempestuous relationship with his wife Zelda would be reflected in his many short stories and novels, first serialised in such literary journals as Scribner's and the Saturday Evening Post. Highly lauded as a writer, Fitzgerald was often mired in debt because of his and Zelda's lavish lifestyle, living beyond their means. Source: http://www.online-literature.com/fitzgerald/ -
Seeking tranquility for his work, the Fitzgeralds went to France in the spring of 1924 . He wrote The Great Gatsby during the summer and fall in Valescure near St. Raphael, but the marriage was damaged by Zelda’s involvement with a French naval aviator. Source: https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/irvin_dept_special_collections/collections/matthew_arlyn_bruccoli_collection_of_f_scott_fitzgerald/life_of_fitzgerald/index.php -
On April 10, 1925, Fitzgerald's masterpiece was published. It initially flopped on sales, and unfortunately was only deemed a great book years after his death. -
The two artists first met in Paris, and quickly became friends. They later became enemies, as Hemingway believed Fitzgerald's wife to be crazy, and a distraction to his writing. Source: https://www.shortform.com/blog/f-scott-fitzgerald-and-ernest-hemingway/ -
A period of time where the economy stagnated worldwide, especially in the US. At its peak, at least 25% of the population was unemployed. Sources:
https://americanhistory.si.edu/american-enterprise-exhibition/corporate-era/great-depression
https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Depression -
In 1930, Scottish inventor John Logie Baird made the first public broadcast of a TV show, from his studio to the London Coliseum Cinema; the screen consisted of a 6-ft by 3-ft array of 2,100 tiny flash lamp bulbs.