F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the 20th century's greatest writers

F. Scott Fitzgerald, born this day in 1896 in St. Paul Minnesota, is best known for his novel The Great Gatsby, which did not receive critical acclaim until after his death in December 1940.  Widely regarded as one the greatest American writers of the 20^th century, he wrote only five novels, but the fifth, The Love of the Last Tycoon, was published posthumously. 

When The Great Gatsby was published in April 1925, it received mixed reviews and sold only 20,000 copies in the first year.  He supplemented his income by writing short stories to magazines and sold stories and novels to Hollywood studios, ‘whoring’ as he called it.

He died of a heart attack in Hollywood after attending a movie premiere the night before.  Fitzgerald is buried in the family plot at St. Mary’s Church in Rockville, Maryland.