September 24, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald is born in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Attends a Catholic prep school in New Jersey, where he meets Father Sigourney Fay, who encourages his dreams of success.
Enters Princeton university.
Neglects studies to write scripts and lyrics for the college musicals and magazines.
On academic probation and unlikely to graduate, joins the army. Makes first attempt at a novel, The Romantic Egotist.
While at Camp Sheridan near Montgomery, Alabama, falls in love with celebrated belle Zelda Sayre.
Goes to New York to seek his fortune and win Zelda's hand in marriage—but she is unwilling to live on his small salary and breaks engagement.
Fame comes almost overnight with the publication of THIS SIDE OF PARADISE. A week later, he marries Zelda in New York.
Writes second novel, The Beautiful and Damned. Settles in St. Paul in time for the birth of his only child, Frances Scott (Scottie).
Started drinking heavily, triggering frequent domestic rows.
His political satire, FROM PRESIDENT TO POSTMAN, fails. He writes his way out of debt with short stories.
Goes to France, where he writes THE GREAT GATSBY.
THE GREAT GATSBY is published. Though critics rave and a sale of stage and screen rights follows, initial book sales are disappointing.
Makes little progress on his fourth novel. Zelda's behavior became increasingly eccentric.
Continues struggling with his fourth novel while Zelda turns to ballet, hoping to become a professional dancer.
The Fitzgeralds returned to France, where Zelda's intense devotion to dance damages her health—and marriage.
Zelda suffered her first breakdown in April. She is treated at a clinic in Switzerland until September, while Fitzgerald lives in Swiss hotels.
Back in the States, Zelda suffers a relapse and enters Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
While a patient at Johns Hopkins, Zelda writes the autobiographical novel, SAVE ME THE WALTZ.
Fitzgerald writes THE CRACK-UP. Ill, drunk, in debt, and unable to write commercially, he lives in hotels near the institutionalized Zelda.
Goes to Hollywood and earns $1,000 a week working for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
After MGM drops his option at the end of 1938, Fitzgerald works as a freelance scriptwriter and writes short stories for Esquire.
Having written much of a draft of a novel called THE LOVE OF THE LAST TYCOON, Fitzgerald dies of a heart attack on December 21, 1940.
Zelda Fitzgerald perished in a fire in Highland Hospital.
