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American author F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896. He published his first novel in 1920, This Side of Paradise, and gained instant acclaim and celebrity, marrying Zelda Sayre shortly afterward. In 1924, Fitzgerald wrote what has become his best-known novel, The Great Gatsby. Although it was not especially popular at the time, as more readers began to appreciate the novel for its perspective of how materialism drives people, it became an American classic. As years passed, Fitzgerald battled alcoholism and his wife sought treatment for her mental illness. He died in Hollywood at age 45 in 1940.

Photo: Library of Congress