Francis Scott Ki Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896–1940) was an American novelist and short story writer, widely regarded as one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, he rose to fame at twenty-three with his debut novel, This Side of Paradise (1920), which captured the spirit of the post-World War I generation. He became the literary voice of the "Jazz Age," a term he popularized, chronicling the glamour, excess, and moral emptiness of America's Roaring Twenties.

His masterpiece, The Great Gatsby (1925), is considered one of the finest novels in American literature. Through the tragic story of Jay Gatsby's pursuit of wealth and lost love, it explores the American Dream, class, and disillusionment. His other notable novels include The Beautiful and Damned (1922), Tender Is the Night (1934), and the unfinished The Last Tycoon (1941). Fitzgerald also wrote acclaimed short stories such as "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," "Babylon Revisited," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

Plagued by financial struggles and his wife Zelda's mental illness, Fitzgerald died of a heart attack in 1940, believing himself a failure. Today, his works are celebrated worldwide as timeless classics of American fiction.