A Soldier's Story: Lieutenant Francis Scott Fitzgerald
A Soldier's Story: Lieutenant Francis Scott Fitzgerald
Born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota, Lieutenant Francis Scott Fitzgerald was named after his distant relative, Francis Scott Key.
He spent his earliest childhood years in Buffalo, New York, before returning to St. Paul, where he was educated primarily at private Catholic academies. Fitzgerald later attended Princeton University, contributing to the Princeton Triangle Club, the Nassau Literary Magazine, and the Princeton Tiger. His academic career ended in 1917 when he left Princeton to enlist in the U.S. Army as America entered World War I.
Lieutenant Fitzgerald trained at Fort Leavenworth under General Dwight D. Eisenhower, though the two were never especially close. During this period, Fitzgerald completed his first novel, The Romantic Egotist. Though initially rejected by publishers, the manuscript marked the beginning of his literary career.
After training, Fitzgerald was stationed at Camp Sheridan in Montgomery, Alabama, where his military experience would later inspire elements of The Beautiful and the Damned. His service ended in 1918 with the conclusion of World War I, before he was deployed overseas.
Returning to civilian life, he revised his novel. He retitled it This Side of Paradise, which became an instant success upon publication—launching Fitzgerald into literary fame and solidifying his place as a defining voice of the Jazz Age.
Over the course of his brief and brilliant career, Fitzgerald wrote four novels and nearly 200 short stories, as well as screenplays for Hollywood, and served as a script doctor. His writing continues to influence American literature more than a century later.
Lieutenant Francis Scott Fitzgerald died on December 21, 1940, in Hollywood, California, following a heart attack, leaving behind both a literary legacy and a quiet chapter of military service that helped shape the storyteller he would become.
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a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virginia.
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