Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald

  • Birth of F. Scott Fitzgerald

    Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was born on the second floor of 481 Laurel Avenue. HIs was born to Edward and Molly Fitzgerald
  • Joining the Army

    Fitzgerald was motivated to join the Army after he failed as a student and was put on academic probation.
  • Meets Zelda Sayer

    Fitzgerald was assigned to Camp Sheridan. This is where he met Zelda Sayer who was the daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court judge.
  • Novel "The Side of Paradise"

    Novel "The Side of Paradise"
    Fitzgerald quit his job to return back to St. Paul where he rewrote his novel "The Side of Paradise". It was then accepted by editor Maxwell Perkins.
  • Writing Career

    Fitzgerald officially commenced his career as a writer of stories for the mass circulation magazines which became his best story market.
  • Marrying Zelda Sayer

    Marrying Zelda Sayer
    A week after his novel, "The Side of Paradise" was published Zelda and Fitzgerald got married in New York.
  • Pregnancy

    Pregnancy
    Zelda became pregnant and motivated them to move back to St. Paul for the birth of their only child.
  • Fitzgerald's play

    In the fall, the Fitzgerald family moved to Great Neck Long Island to be closer to Broadway. This is because Fitzgerald wrote a play called "The Vegetable". The play failed and Fitzgerald wrote his way out of debt with short stories.
  • The Great Gatsby

    The Great Gatsby
    Fitzgerald went to France where 'The Great Gatsby" was written.
  • Moving to America

    The Fitzgerald's moved back to America to attempt to escape the distractions of France and to resume on the work of his novels. They rented out a mansion in Delaware, Zelda became a professional ballet dancer.
  • Zelda relapsed

    The family returned to America where Zelda relapsed a year later, she stayed at John Hopkins hospital in Baltimore.
  • Tender is The Night

    Tender is The Night
    Fitzgerald completed his forth novel "Tender is The Night" which examines the deterioration of the marriage between an American psychiatrist and a wealthy mental patient. The novel closely mirrored the relationship between Zelda and Fitzgerald during the time it was written.
  • Zelda's health

    Zelda suffered her first breakdown and was treated at Pragins Clinic in Switzerland. During this time Fitzgerald paused the work of his novel to write short stories in order to pay for her psychiatric treatment.
  • Moving to Hollywood

    Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood by himself while his daughter was sent to boarding school. He worked with MGM as a screenwriter until 1938 when he began to work as a freelance script writer for Esquire.
  • Fitzgerald's death

    Fitzgerald passed away from a heart attack in 1940. He died believing he was a failure due to his alcoholism.