Timeline Description: The Great Gatsby, by author F. Scott Fitzgerald, was published in 1925. It tells the story of Jay Gatsby. The following timeline provides a context of events in the novel, rather than events surrounding the creation of the novel.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1892 | James Gatz Was Born James Gatz, later Jay Gatsby, was born in North Dakota. |
| 1910 | Gatz Became Gatsby In 1910, James Gatz became Jay Gatsby. He briefly attended college, then travelled, working on Dan Cody's yacht. After Cody's death, Gatsby expected, but did not get an inheritance. |
| 1915 | Nick Carraway Graduated from Yale, Went to War In 1915, the character Nick Carraway graduated from Yale University and went to fight in World War I. After the war, Nick returned to the Midwest. |
| 1917 | Gatsby Met Daisy and Went to War(1917 to 1918) In 1917 and 1918, Jay Gatsby met Daisy Fay and fell in love. He went to serve in World War I, receiving medals for his service in the war. |
| 1919 | Daisy Fay Married Tom Buchanan In 1919, Daisy married Tom Buchanan. The couple moved to Chicago, and later to Long Island, New York. During this time, Tom had an affair with the chambermaid. |
| 1922 | Nick Moved to Long Island Nick moved to West Egg, Long Island. The Buchanans, Daisy and Tom, as well as Jay Gatsby were already in residence in West Egg. Nick already knew the Buchanans, as Daisy was his cousin. By the time, Tom was having an affair with Myrtle. |
| 1922 | Gatsby Met Daisy After Nick and Gatsby met, Gatsby and Daisy were reunited at Nick's home. Nick had already heard about Gatsby and Daisy's past. Gatsby and Daisy go on to begin an affair. |
| 1922 | Daisy Returned to Tom After some time with Gatsby, Daisy returned to Tom. Gatsby was heartbroken, but the reunion was brief. |
| 1922 | Daisy Hit Myrtle with Gatsby's Car Daisy returned to Gatsby, and was driving back to Gatsby's home in his yellow Rolls Royce. While driving, she hit Tom's mistress, Myrtle. Myrtle's husband, George Wilson, believed that Gatsby was responsible. |
| 1922 | Daisy Reunited with Tom Daisy and Tom reconcile for the last time. Gatsby is left alone. |
| 1922 | Gatsby Was Shot by George Wilson(Fall 1922) George Wilson, believing Gatsby to have struck and killed his wife, shot Gatsby. After shooting and killing Gatsby, George killed himself. |
| 1922 | Gatsby's Funeral(Late Fall 1922) Nick Carraway organized Gatsby's funeral, but was unable to find Gatsby's friends to attend the funeral. Gatsby's father and Nick attended the funeral, with only a few other people. Nick returned to the Midwest. |