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Date of Birth
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Edward and Molly Fitzgerald. -
College Life
Fitzgerald attended Princeton University as a member of the class of 1917. However, he often neglected his academics to focus on his literary training. His failure as a student lead him to join the army and that same year he wrote his first novel, “The Romantic Egotist.” -
Zelda Sayer
In June 1918, while assigned to Camp Sheridan near Montgomery, Alabama, Fitzgerald met Zelda Sayer, the youngest daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court judge. -
New York
Discharged from the army in 1919, Fitzgerald traveled to New York to seek his fortune and marry Zelda, but she broke off the engagement after being unwilling to live off his small salary -
This Side of Paradise
Fitzgerald quit his job in July of 1919 and returned to St. Paul to rewrite his novel as “This Side of Paradise”, which was later accepted by editor Maxwell Perkins of Scribners in September of that same year. -
Marriage
A week after “This Side of Paradise” was published, Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre were married in New York. -
Francis Scott Fitzgerald
Zelda became pregnant only a year after their marriage, which motivated them to move back to St. Paul for the birth of their only child, Francis Scott Fitzgerald in October. -
The Great Gatsby
Fitzgerald revised his novel “The Great Gatsby” while in Rome during the winter of 1924 to 1925. The novel was published while the family was on route to Paris, and although it received praise from critics, sales were disappointing. -
Delaware
By the end of 1926 the Fitzgerald’s returned to America in order for F. Scott to escape distractions and focus on his writing. They rented out a mansion in Delaware for 2 years during which Zelda began ballet training in hopes of becoming a professional dancer. -
Mental Health
In April of 1930, Zelda suffered from her first breakdown due to her intensive ballet training and was treated at Pragins Clinic in Switzerland until September 1931. Fitzgerald once again paused work on his novel to write short stories in order to pay for her treatment. -
Tender Is The Night
Fitzgerald completed his fourth novel in 1934, “Tender Is The Night”, which closely mirrors the relationship between Zelda and Fitzgerald as it examines the deterioration of the marriage between an American psychiatrist and a wealthy mental patient. -
The “Crack-Up Years”
From 1936 to 1937 the period of Fitzgerald’s life has been categorized as the “crack-up years” due to his alcoholism and inability to write commercial stories. -
Boarding School
After their stay in Baltimore due to Zelda’s relapse in 1931, Fitzgerald did not maintain a home for Scottie and she was sent to boarding school at the age of 14. -
Hollywood
Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood in the summer of 1937 to work with MGM as a screenwriter until 1938 when he began to work as a freelance scriptwriter for Esquire. -
Date of Death
Fitzgerald passes away on December 21, 1940 after writing more than half of the working draft for his novel “The Love of the Last Tycoon” from a heart attack.