Literature · Film · 1896–1940
Born: 24 September 1896 · Died: 21 December 1940 · Age at death: 44
F. Scott Fitzgerald died aged 44. He was born on 24 September 1896 and died on 21 December 1940.
American novelist of The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night who chronicled the glamour of the Jazz Age
Did you know?He was named after his distant relative Francis Scott Key, the man who wrote the lyrics to the American national anthem.
F. Scott Fitzgerald captured the glamour and emptiness of 1920s America. His first novel, This Side of Paradise, made him famous at 23. He and his wife Zelda became symbols of the Jazz Age, partying in New York and on the French Riviera. The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, is a short, perfect novel about wealth, longing and the American Dream. It sold poorly at first. Debts, drink and Zelda's illness darkened his later years. He died believing himself a failure. Today Gatsby is read in schools across the world.
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940), widely known as F. Scott Fitzgerald or simply Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
Profile
American novelist, 1896–1940
F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St Paul, Minnesota, on 24 September 1896.
This Side of Paradise appeared in 1920.
The Great Gatsby was published in 1925.
He died in Hollywood in 1940.
Career highlights
Did you know?He popularised the phrase "the Jazz Age".
Questions people ask
1911–1985
b. 1961
1884–1973
1501–1576
1905–1976
1717–1797Missing someone? Suggest them
b. 1952
1869–1948
1940–1980
b. 1981A newspaper from their birth date
The front page from the day they were born, a classic keepsake.
Shop on AmazonLibra zodiac gifts
Jewellery, prints and candles for the Libra in your life.
Shop on EtsyStar map of September 24
A custom print of the night sky on their birthday.
Shop on EtsyMilestone birthday gifts
Ideas for 18th, 30th, 40th, 50th and beyond.
Shop on AmazonWe may earn a small commission from purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Reviewed by the Who Shares My Birthday editorial team.
Last reviewed: October 2026