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Hunter S. Thompson Facts

Hunter S. Thompson Facts
Hunter S. Thompson was an American author and journalist best known for his book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and for his style of journalism which he coined 'Gonzo'. He was born Hunter Stockton Thompson on July 18th, 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky to Jack Robert Thompson, an insurance adjuster, and Virginia Ray Davison, a librarian. He had two younger brothers. When Hunter was six years old his family moved to an affluent Cherokee Triangle neighborhood, and when he was 14 his father died, leaving his mother to raise him and his brothers. Hunter attended various high schools until 1952 when he transferred to Louisville Male High School where he became a member of the Athenaeum Literary Association, a social and literary club, where his writing career began.
Interesting Hunter S. Thompson Facts:
Hunter S. Thompson was kicked out of the Athenaeum Literary Association because he was sentenced to 60 days for being in the car with a robber.
After his jail time Hunter joined the United States Air Force. He studied electronics while enlisted, and while serving at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida he became a sports editor at The Command Courier. He lied on his application to get the job.
Hunter S. Thompson was honorably discharged from the Air Force because his commanding officer wrote, "In summary, this airman, although talented, will not be guided by policy." His attitude was contagious among other servicemen.
Hunter went to work in New York City, landing a job with Time for less than a year before being fired for insubordination.
In 1961 Hunter S. Thompson published his first feature in Rogue magazine.
He was fired from his job at Big Sur hot springs as a caretaker because of the publicity from his feature in Rogue.
Hunter wrote the novels Prince Jellyfish and The Rum Diary following the feature in Rogue.
The Rum Diary was about Hunter's experiences in Puerto Rico and wasn't published until 1998. He had already been a famous writer for many years by then.
Hunter worked as a reporter for the National Observer from 1962 to 1963 in South America.
In 1963 Hunter married Sandra Dawn Conklin, and had a son together in Aspen, Colorado. The couple had five more children but none survived past infancy. They divorced (as friends) in 1980.
In 1965 Hunter S. Thompson began to write for an underground Berkeley paper called The Spyder.
Hunter went to live and ride with the biker gang The Hells Angels for a year, and after being beaten for not sharing the profits with the gang he published the book Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.
Hunter's career as a respected writer took off and he continued with his journalistic style, publishing a variety of features in newspapers and magazines.
Hunter went on to write several books including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, Gonzo Papers, The Curse of Lono, The Fear and Loathing Letters, Screw Jack, Fear and Loathing in America, Kingdom of Fear, Hey Rube, and Happy Birthday, Jack Nicholson.
Hunter S. Thompson died on February 20th, 2005 at the age of 67 in Woody Creek, Colorado. His ashes, following cremation, were shot from a cannon.


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