Fitzgerald,

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Fitzgerald \Fitzgerald\,
     F. Scott, American Novelist (1896-1940). F. Scott Fitzgerald
     was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Molly
     McQuillan and Edward Fitzgerald. He was a second cousin,
     twice removed of Francis Scott Key, the writer of the "Star
     Spangled Banner", a fact of which he was very proud and for


     whom he was named.
     His father was a failed businessman and his mother was the
     doting, smothering kind. He had one younger sister. He was
     extremely ashamed of his mother for her lack of beauty and
     emasculating of his father. Both parents were thrilled with
     Scott because he was handsome, popular and later, a famous
     writer. The family lived off the income of the mother who was
     the daughter of a wealthy merchant. All of his life Scott
     aspired to be one of the rich people he socialized with in
     St. Paul and later at Princeton University, where he was more
     successful as a participant in performing and writing musical
     productions in the Triangle Club than as an academic.
     In 1917 Scott enlisted in the Army when it was apparent that
     his Junior year at Princeton might be his last, owing to poor
     grades. He hoped to make a name for himself in World War I
     doing something brave and heroic. His head was always full of
     notions of becoming famous, popular and sought-after in high
     social circles, and the darling of the "top girl" among the
     elite. Unfortunately for Scott, the war ended before he had a
     chance to prove his bravery. It was a pivotal point in his
     life and work, however, as it was while he was in the Army
     that he met Zelda Sayre.
     Zelda Sayre was the belle of Montgomery, Alabama, not yet
     eighteen and already famous in town for her bucking of
     authority, drinking, dancing all night and beauty. Scott had
     met his match. He was stationed in Montgomery when he met her
     at a dance. They had a rocky courtship that continued until
     Scott mustered out of the Army and got a job in advertising
     in New York City. He hated the job and when Zelda broke off
     their engagement citing his dim future in business, he was
     desolate. He quit his job and went back home to St. Paul
     where he stayed with his parents and rewrote a novel about
     his college days that had earlier been rejected.
     The novel, This Side of Paradise, became THE biggest novel of
     1920. Fitzgerald was an instant success known all around the
     nation and celebrated as the Voice of His Generation. He
     married Zelda one week after its publication. They then
     embarked a life of drinking, wild nights, hobnobbing with the
     rich and famous and becoming the life of every party. This
     continued on for a few years both in the United States and
     Paris where they sought refuge from their excesses, but only
     created more. In Paris, Fitzgerald wrote what was to become
     his finest work and because of which his place in literary
     history is secured. The Great Gatsby was like all of
     Fitzgerald's work, based on his own life. Like the title
     character, Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald wanted to reinvent himself
     and become the person he always wanted to be in his
     imagination; rich, brave, successful in life and as important
     in his mind if not more, to have the girl of his dreams by
     his side, appreciating him.
     Fitzgerald was always sure of one thing -- his own talent. He
     had been a writer since he was a child and always received
     special attention for it. Writing was something he could do
     that none of his classmates could. He reveled in his
     notoriety and even when his pain of alcoholism and
     disappointments in life became almost unbearable his talent
     and belief in it never faltered.
     Zelda and Scott had one daughter, Frances Scott Fitzgerald,
     "Scottie." Their marriage became a hell for both of them as
     they descended into alcoholism and Zelda's mental illness,
     which surfaced when she was in her late twenties. Through all
     of the travails, Scott stayed a dedicated writer, mostly
     turning out short stories for the Saturday Evening Post and
     Esquire which paid him top dollar. It was through these
     stories that Fitzgerald was able to support himself, and pay
     for Zelda's extended periods in mental hospitals. He also
     sent Scottie to private schools. His alcoholism frequently
     caused his own need for drying-out cures in sanitariums,
     also.
     F. Scott Fitzgerald died of a heart attack on December 21,
     1940 in Hollywood in the company of his mistress, gossip
     columnist Sheilah Graham. He had finally become sober for one
     year, but it was too late. He had ruined his health. When he
     died his five novels had been out of print for years and he
     was considered a relic of the Twenties "Jazz Age", a term he
     had coined. He had been in Hollywood the last few years of
     his life trying to be a movie writer for hire in order to
     continue to support himself, Zelda, who was permanently in a
     mental hospital, and his daughter, who was in college. It was
     not until the Fifties that Fitzgerald's literary legacy
     finally was appreciated. He is now considered to be one of
     the greatest writers of the Twentieth Century.
     Sources:
     Fool for Love: F. Scott Fitzgerald, A biographical portrait
     by Scott Donaldson, Congdon & Weed, New York, NY, 1983.
     F. Scott Fitgerald in Minnesota: His Homes and Haunts by John
     J. Koblas, Minnesota Historical Society Press, St. Paul, MN,
     1978.
     [Gail Glaser]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Fitzgerald
       n 1: English poet remembered primarily for his free translation
            of the poetry of Omar Khayyam (1809-1883) [syn: {Edward
            Fitzgerald}]
       2: United States novelist (1896-1940) [syn: {F. Scott
          Fitzgerald}, {Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald}]
       3: United States scat singer (born in 1918) [syn: {Ella
          Fitzgerald}]

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Fitzgerald, GA (city, FIPS 29528)
    Location: 31.70616 N, 83.25362 W
    Population (1990): 8612 (3721 housing units)
    Area: 14.9 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)
    Zip code(s): 31750

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Fitzgerald, GA -- U.S. city in Georgia
     Population (2000):    8758
     Housing Units (2000): 3968
     Land area (2000):     7.245089 sq. miles (18.764694 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.041496 sq. miles (0.107474 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    7.286585 sq. miles (18.872168 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            29528
     Located within:       Georgia (GA), FIPS 13
     Location:             31.715432 N, 83.256464 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):     31750
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Fitzgerald, GA
      Fitzgerald