-
Born
Hunter was born in Louisville, Kentucky into a middle class family. He was the first of three children, all boys. -
Period: to
Hunter S. Thompson
-
Death of Hunter's Father
John Thompson died when Hunter was 14 years old. He died of myasthenia gravis. -
Accepted into the Athenaeum Literary Association
This allowed Hunter to hone his writing skills at an early age. -
Ejected from ALA
Hunter was ejected when he was arrested as an accessory to robbery. He was in the car with the perpitrator. -
Enlisted in US Air Force
He enlisted one day after sinking every boat in a harbour by shooting holes beneath waterlines. -
Transfered to Eglin Air Base, Florida
Here he took evening classes at Florida State University. -
Aquired First Journalism Job
Lying about his experience, Hunter aquired a job writing for a air force issue sports paper. -
Honourable Discharge From Air Force
-
Wrote His First Novel (The Rum Diary)
This novel wasn't published until 1998. The original manuscript was found by Johnny Depp amongst Hunter's various papers. -
Married Sandra Dawn Conklin
He would stay married to her until their divorce in 1980. However they remained close friends. -
Jaun Fitzgerald Thompson Born
The first of what could have been six. Three more conceptions were miscarried and the other two died shortly after birth. -
Published an Article on the Hell's Angels
This article led to the idea for a nonfiction book studying the infamous group. -
Hell's Angles: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs
This book was an instant hit and almost led to Hunter's death. After its release, the angels wanted some of Hunter's profits and he refused. They beat him to the brink of death and he hadn't had contact with them for the rest of his life. -
Ran for Sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado
He was voted in at 44% in a 3-way election. -
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
His most famous work. It was popularized by descriptions of illegal drug use, and truly gave birth to gonzo journalism. -
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
Hunter's writings of covering the 1972 presidential campaign. -
The Great Shark Hunt
This book is broken into four parts, beginning with Thompson's work while in the air force, finishing well into his middle years' commentary of politics and culture. -
Divorced Sandra Conklin
After 17 years it fell apart, though they remained good friends. -
The Curse of Lono
This book details Hunter's experiences of his time in Hawaii in 1980. His experience is full of highs and lows in more ways than one. -
Generation of Swine
This is a collection of Hunter's articles from the San Francisco Examiner on the culture and politics of the 80's. -
Songs of the Doomed
Another collection of Hunter's rantings and ravings during his career. -
The Proud Highway
Oddly, this is a continuation of Fear and Loathing in America's ideas and concepts. This however, was released first. -
Fear and Loathing in America
This is a collection of letters that Hunter wrote during the prime of his career in the 60's and 70's. It also details his thoughts on his own success and his desires to know what legacy he will be leaving behind. -
Married Anita Beymunk
His second wife. They would stay married until Hunter's unexpected death two years later. -
Kingdom of Fear
The easiest way to describe this book is "a gonzo autobiography". Hunter often writes about his past and makes connections to his actions later in life. -
Hunter's Death
Hunter shot himself in his study at the age of 67. His ashed were fired from a cannon to the accompaniment of red, blue, white, and green fireworks, all to "Spirit in the Sky".
