F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer, widely regarded as one of the greatest authors of the 20th century and a defining voice of the Jazz Age, a term he himself coined.Born Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota, he demonstrated literary talent from a young age. He attended Princeton University, where he wrote for literary magazines but left before graduating to join the Army during World War I. Though he never saw combat, this period shaped his early ambition to become a successful writer.Fitzgerald rose to fame with his debut novel, This Side of Paradise (1920), a semi-autobiographical exploration of youth and ambition, which captured the postwar generation's spirit and made him an overnight literary celebrity. That same year, he married Zelda Sayre, a Southern socialite, whose flamboyant personality and troubled mental health would deeply influence his life and work.His most famous novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), is considered a landmark of American literature, offering a piercing critique of the American Dream and the decadence of the Roaring Twenties. Although initially met with modest success, the novel gained iconic status after his death.Fitzgerald's other major works include The Beautiful and Damned (1922), Tender Is the Night (1934), and his unfinished final novel, The Last Tycoon (published posthumously in 1941).Despite early success, Fitzgerald struggled with alcoholism, financial instability, and personal turmoil, particularly due to Zelda's mental illness. He spent his final years working in Hollywood as a screenwriter, where he battled professional disappointment and declining health.F. Scott Fitzgerald died of a heart attack on December 21, 1940, at the age of 44. Though he considered himself a failure at the time of his death, his literary reputation grew significantly in the decades that followed, cementing his legacy as a master chronicler of American ambition, excess, and disillusionment.