Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His father, Edward, was an aristocrat and his mother, Mary (Mollie) McQuillan, hailed from working-class Irish immigrants. Francis was named after a distant relative, who was the composer of "The Star-Spangled Banner." With his parents being from such different traditions and backgrounds, Fitzgerald had a confusing mix of feelings. In his own words, he would describe his mother's family as "straight 1850 potato-famine Irish." His mother's father became wealthy as a wholesale grocer in St. Paul. As a result, he saw the promise of "The American Dream" both vulgar and dazzling.

Fitzgerald's parents were Catholic, and they raised him in the church and sent him to an all boys' Catholic School on the East coast. Fitzgerald wanted to be popular in his social circle. He was very flirtatious with many different girls at the...