John F. Fitzgerald him the nickname 'Honey Fitz'. His daughter Rose married Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., a son of his political rival P. J. Kennedy. In old age, Fitzgerald helped his grandson John F. Kennedy to win his first seat in congress. John Francis Fitzgerald was born in the North End of Boston, to Irish businessman/politician Thomas Fitzgerald of Bruff, County Limerick, and Rosanna Cox of County Cavan. He was the fourth of twelve children. Both of his sisters, Ellen and Mary, and his eldest brother, Michael, died in infancy. Fitzgerald's brother Joseph had severe brain damage from malaria and barely functioned. Only
F. Scott Fitzgerald his first novel sold well enough to support the opulent lifestyle that he and Zelda adopted as New York celebrities. ("The Great Gatsby", now considered to be his masterpiece, did not become popular until after Fitzgerald's death.) Because of this lifestyle, as well as the bills from Zelda's medical care when they came, Fitzgerald was constantly in financial trouble and often required loans from his literary agent, Harold Ober, and his editor at Scribner's, Maxwell Perkins. When Ober decided not to continue advancing money to Fitzgerald, the author severed ties with his longtime friend and agent. (Fitzgerald offered a good-hearted