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Scott Fitzgerald is born
On this day, Scott Fitzgerald was born to Mollie McQuillan and Edward Fitzgerald. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and grew up there. At the age of 15, he was sent to a Catholic Preparatory school in the state of New Jersey. While there he met a man by the name of Father Sigourney Fay, who told him to continue to pursue writing. He believe that Scott had been very talented. -
Fitzgerald gradutates
Once he was finished with the Catholic school his parents sent him to, he graduated and went to Princeton university. In Princeton University, Fitzgerald mainly focused on his writing instead of his coursework. It cost him to have academic difficulties, which later led him to dropping out. During his time at Princeton, he had focused and spent all his time writing. He even wrote for clubs. -
Fitzgerald joins the Army
Fitzgerald stayed in New Jersey and decided to do his schooling at Princeton University. He made writing one of his first priorities above his school work. Fitzgerald wrote scripts at Princeton and continued to work on his writing. It caused him academic probation, which eventually led to him dropping out and joining the U.S. Army. -
Fitzgerald is discharged from U.S Army
After serving in the army for 2 years, Fitzgerald is discharged. He had been working on stories while in the Army because he had feared death. Once discharged, Fitzgerald moved to New York in order to marry, his girlfriend at the time, Zelda. Unfortunately, Zelda had broke off the engagement because of Fitzgerald’s income being smaller. -
“This Side of Paradise” accepted by Maxwell Perkins
After writing “This Side of Paradise” the book was to later be accepted by Maxwell Perkins, an American book author. Soon after the book would be published in 1920. A week after being published, the book got an unexpected amount of popularity and attention drawn to it. It would lead Fitzgerald on to writing more books that would gain even more popularity in the future. This would ultimately allow Fitzgerald to have the writing career he so desired. -
Fitzgerald commences as a writer
Fitzgerald started his career as a writer of stories for popular magazines. One of the most well-known magazines that he wrote for was “ The Saturday Evening Post”. “The Saturday Evening Post” posted mostly literary fiction and national news. Fitzgerald’s posts on this magazine got a lot of attention. Soon after his novel would give him celebrity like qualities. -
“This Side of Paradise” gains popularity
Almost as if it was overnight, Fitzgerald‘s novel blew up by the public. It gained a lot of popularity a week after being published. Fitzgerald took note of this, as he enjoyed the feeling of being like a celebrity. As his writing career sparked, him and his wife Zelda Fitzgerald, decided to get married in New York. From the popularity of this novel, it inspired Fitzgerald to create even more in the near future. -
The Fitzgeralds have a child
The Fitzgeralds Moved back to St. Paul after deciding they wanted a child, so that they could have their child there. Their daughter Frances Scottie Fitzgerald was born soon after in October. After their daughters birth, Fitzgerald would go on to write a play. The play would be name “The Vegetable”. They would move again very soon for Fitzgerald to pitch his play in broadway. -
Fitzgerald’s play “The Vegetable” fails
In the fall, the Fitzgeralds moved to Great Neck Long Island to be near Broadway. Fitzgerald was confident in writing plays and wanted to be near Broadway so that he could show off the play he had written. The play he had written was called the vegetable. Unfortunately, the play failed and was not accepted. The family moved to France soon after. -
The Great Gatsby is published
The Fitzgeralds moved to France, where Scott Fitzgerald wrote the Great Gatsby. While in Rome, Fitzgerald revised the Great Gatsby, soon after publishing it. When the Great Gatsby was published, it was highly praised of the sales were not good. Though The book was popular, it did not receive the amount of credit it should’ve until way after Fitzgerald‘s death. Only then did it get the recognition it deserved. -
Fitzgeralds return to France
The Fitzgeralds return to France so that Scott Fitzgerald could focus on his writing. Soon after, the Fitzgeralds return to America and rented out a mansion in Delaware for two years. While in Delaware, Zelda decided she wanted to do ballet training to become a professional ballet dancer. Though her dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer soon came to an end. The family returned to France later on, and the intense ballet training ended up damaging Zelda‘s health. -
Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda is diagnosed with schizophrenia
After returning to France, Zelda suffers her first breakdown. She was treated at a clinic in Switzerland until September 1931. After she got out of the clinic, the family moved to America. Unfortunately, Zelda relapsed after a year. She began treatment again at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. -
Fitzgerald’s fourth novel is published
During his wife’s time in John Hopkins clinic, Scott was inspired to write his fourth novel named “Tender is Night”. This novel follows a wealthy patient and an American psychiatrist. Following their difficult marriage. The novel is solely based on his situation with Zelda Fitzgerald during the time the novel came out. This novel obviously had special meaning to Fitzgerald. -
Fitzgerald faces “the cracked up” years
From 1936 to 1937, this period of Fitzgerald’s life was known as The “cracked up years”. Writing became a struggle for Fitzgerald. He developed a serious alcoholism problem and it allowed him to develop an inability to write commercial stories. The alcohol did not help him one bit. He was unable to maintain a home for his daughter and she was sent to boarding school, at the very young age of 15. -
Scott Fitzgerald dies
Shortly after Scott Fitzgerald did scripting as a screenwriter he passed away. Scott Fitzgerald passed away on December 21, 1940. Sadly, he passed away believing he was a failure. He did not reach the point he wanted to do with his novels and the alcoholism really ruined him. He never got to see what his novels accomplished now.
