Hunter S. Thompson
Born 1937 · Age 88
American journalist and author, pioneer of New Journalism and creator of Gonzo journalism; best known for Hell's Angels and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Compare Your Trajectory
See how your career milestones stack up against Hunter S. Thompson and other industry leaders.
Life & Career Timeline
Born in Louisville, Kentucky
Hunter Stockton Thompson born to Virginia Davison Ray and Jack Robert Thompson.
Family settled in Cherokee Triangle neighborhood
Thompson's family moved to the affluent Cherokee Triangle area of Louisville (The Highlands).
Co-founded Hawks Athletic Club (elementary school)
As a child at I.N. Bloom Elementary School Thompson co-founded the Hawks Athletic Club (estimated year based on elementary school attendance).
Transferred to Louisville Male High School
Attended I.N. Bloom Elementary, Highland Middle School, Atherton High School and transferred to Louisville Male High School in fall 1952.
Father died
Jack Robert Thompson died of myasthenia gravis; Hunter and his brothers were thereafter raised primarily by their mother Virginia.
Ejected from Athenaeum and jailed 31 days
Ejected from Athenaeum Literary Association for criminal activity; charged as accessory to robbery; served 31 days in Jefferson County Jail and was prevented from graduating.
Enlisted in U.S. Air Force
Enlisted following jail stint; later served in Strategic Air Command, Office of Information Services (service years 1955–58).
Assigned to Eglin AFB; first pro writing job
Transferred to Eglin Air Force Base, took evening classes at Florida State University, and became sports editor of the base newsletter Command Courier by overstating experience.
Early honorable discharge recommended and left Air Force
While an airman first class his commanding officer recommended an early honorable discharge due to rebellious conduct; left service in 1958.
Moved to New York City; audited Columbia courses
After leaving the Air Force he relocated to NYC, audited classes at Columbia University School of General Studies and pursued journalism.
Hired and fired at Time magazine as copy boy
Worked at Time as a copy boy for $51/week; typed out novels to study style; fired in 1959 for insubordination.
Reporter at The Middletown Daily Record (fired)
Worked briefly as a reporter in Middletown, New York; dismissed after damaging an office candy machine and a dispute with a local restaurant owner.
Moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico; El Sportivo
Took a job at sporting magazine El Sportivo in San Juan; the magazine ceased operations shortly after his arrival; later stringer for New York Herald Tribune.
Lived in Big Sur; first magazine feature & short story
Worked as security guard/caretaker at Slates Hot Springs near Big Sur; published first magazine feature in Rogue and first fiction short story 'Burial at Sea'.
South America correspondent for National Observer
Traveled to South America (Brazil) as a correspondent for the Dow Jones-owned National Observer and worked for the Brazil Herald in Rio de Janeiro.
Married Sandra Dawn Conklin
Married longtime girlfriend Sandra Dawn Conklin (Sondi Wright) shortly after returning from South America; later divorced in 1980.
Moved to San Francisco; covered 1964 GOP convention
Moved to San Francisco and attended the 1964 GOP convention at the Cow Palace; severed ties with National Observer after editorial dispute.
Began using dextroamphetamine for writing
Started using dextroamphetamine in summer 1964, which he would use extensively until later shifting to cocaine.
Birth of son Juan Fitzgerald Thompson
Son Juan Fitzgerald Thompson born in March 1964.
Lived and rode with the Hells Angels
Spent approximately a year embedded with the Hells Angels while researching the book; relationship later broke down after disputes and a violent beating.
Published Hells Angels magazine article
Article on the Hells Angels appeared (Carey McWilliams commissioned it); led to book offers and a year living with the club.
Random House publishes Hell's Angels (hardcover)
Random House published Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (publication date cited as 1966 in text).
Wrote 'The 'Hashbury' is the Capital of the Hippies' (NYT Magazine)
Criticized hippie culture in The New York Times Magazine shortly before the Summer of Love.
Alternative citation: Hell's Angels (1967) noted
Some sources cite Hell's Angels as a 1967 work; text includes differing publication years (1966/1967).
Moved back to Colorado; rented Woody Creek house
Thompson and family relocated back to Colorado, renting near Aspen (Woody Creek).
Signed Writers and Editors War Tax Protest
Vowed to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War along with other writers and editors.
Random House advance $6,000 to cover 1968 election
Used a $6,000 advance from Random House to travel the country covering the 1968 U.S. presidential election and research the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Deal with Ballantine Books to write 'The Johnson File' fell through
Signed a deal to write a satirical book about Lyndon B. Johnson that was canceled a few weeks later after Johnson withdrew from the election.
Purchased 110-acre Owl Farm property
Acquired a 110-acre compound near Aspen (Owl Farm) for approximately $75,000 (used royalties toward down payment).
Impressed by Rolling Stone's Altamont coverage; began contributing
After Rolling Stone's coverage of Altamont, Thompson contacted Jann Wenner and began contributing to Rolling Stone, which became his primary outlet.
Received $15,000 paperback royalty; bought Owl Farm land
In early 1969 he received a $15,000 royalty check from paperback sales of Hell's Angels and used part as a down payment on 110 acres (Owl Farm), which cost $75,000.
Published 'The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved'
Published the now-famous Scanlan's Monthly piece (paired with Ralph Steadman's illustrations) that pioneered Gonzo techniques.
Birth of 'Gonzo' label for his journalism
Journalist Bill Cardoso called Thompson's Derby piece 'pure Gonzo'; Thompson embraced the term as his style.
Ran for Pitkin County sheriff (Freak Power ticket) and lost
Ran on the Freak Power ticket; election results show Carrol D. Whitmire 1,533 votes to Thompson's 1,065; he carried Aspen but lost countywide.
Published 'The Battle of Aspen' in Rolling Stone (as candidate)
First Rolling Stone feature to carry the byline 'By: Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (Candidate for Sheriff)'; he used a mail-order 'Dr.' credential.
First known use of 'Dr.' title (mail-order church)
Used a mail-order 'Dr.' credential (obtained while in San Francisco in the 1960s) as part of his candidate persona.
First credited collaboration with Ralph Steadman
Began a long creative partnership with illustrator Ralph Steadman, starting with the Kentucky Derby piece and continuing across many works.
Assigned to and paid retainer to cover 1972 campaign by Rolling Stone
Wenner agreed to assign Thompson to cover the 1972 presidential election and paid him a retainer of $1,000 per month.
Serialized 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone serialized the book-length piece in two parts in November 1971; manuscript initially rejected by Sports Illustrated.
Random House publishes Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (book)
Book version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas published (1972); established Thompson as a major literary figure.
First campaign piece 'Fear and Loathing in Washington' published (Jan 6, 1972)
Began Rolling Stone campaign series covering the 1972 election; final installment appeared Nov 9, 1972.
Published Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
Collected his 1972 campaign coverage into a book published in early 1973.
First cocaine use reported
Text records Thompson trying cocaine for the first time in 1973; friends and editors later cited its negative effect on productivity.
Rumble in the Jungle (Kinshasa) assignment—missed the match
Assigned to cover Foreman-Ali in Zaire; missed the fight while intoxicated and failed to file the story—marking a decline in productivity.
Traveled to Saigon to cover fall of South Vietnam
Sent to Vietnam by Rolling Stone; left amid chaotic collapse and allegedly delayed filing a substantive report until the 10-year anniversary of the fall.
Planned 1976 campaign coverage canceled after Straight Arrow Press division dissolved
Plans to cover the 1976 presidential campaign and publish a book fell through when Wenner dissolved the magazine's book-publishing division.
Rolling Stone 'National Affairs Desk' masthead role (ongoing)
Wenner kept Thompson on the Rolling Stone masthead as chief of the 'National Affairs Desk' (a position he held on the masthead until his death).
Published The Great Shark Hunt (Gonzo Papers Vol. 1)
Began publishing The Gonzo Papers series, collecting many articles and writings (The Great Shark Hunt, 1979).
Relocated to Hawaii to research The Curse of Lono
Moved to Hawaii to research a Gonzo-style account of the 1980 Honolulu Marathon; work later published as The Curse of Lono.
Divorced Sandra Conklin; film Where the Buffalo Roam released
Divorced his first wife in 1980; that year the loose film adaptation Where the Buffalo Roam (based on his early work) was released starring Bill Murray.
Excerpt of The Curse of Lono appears in Running
An iteration of The Curse of Lono first appeared in Running in 1981 as 'The Charge of the Weird Brigade.'
Published The Curse of Lono (book) and covered Grenada
The Curse of Lono (illustrated by Ralph Steadman) was published (1983); Thompson also covered the U.S. invasion of Grenada that year.
Published Rolling Stone piece 'A Dog Took My Place'
Wrote an exposé for Rolling Stone on the Roxanne Pulitzer divorce case titled 'A Dog Took My Place.'
Accepted advance to research 'feminist pornography' for Playboy
Accepted an advance from Playboy and spent time researching at the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre; work evolved into an unpublished novel tentatively titled The Night Manager.
Began writing as a media columnist for the San Francisco Examiner (late 1980s)
Took a role as weekly media columnist/critic for The San Francisco Examiner (exact start 'late 1980s'); many columns later collected in Gonzo Papers volumes.
Gonzo Papers, Vol. 2: Generation of Swine published
Collected columns and writings from the 1980s into Generation of Swine (1988).
Gonzo Papers, Vol. 3: Songs of the Doomed published
Published Songs of the Doomed (1990), a collection of articles, reminiscences, and previously unpublished material.
Faced sexual assault charge; charges dropped
In March 1990 Gail Palmer accused Thompson of sexual assault; he was tried on multiple counts but charges were dropped two months later.
Published 'Fear and Loathing in Elko' and Better Than Sex activities
'Fear and Loathing in Elko' published (1992); wrote Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie (collected as Gonzo Papers Vol. 4 in 1994 later).
Gonzo Papers, Vol. 4: Better Than Sex published
Published Better Than Sex (1994), a collection of political writing and columns including his 1992 campaign reactions.
Published excerpt of 'Polo Is My Life' in Rolling Stone
An excerpt of an unfinished novel 'Polo Is My Life' appeared in Rolling Stone in 1994; full novel never published though ISBN assigned for planned 1999 release.
Published 'He Was a Crook' — scathing Nixon obituary
Rolling Stone published Thompson's 'He Was a Crook' obituary of Richard Nixon on June 16, 1994.
Modern Library reissues Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Modern Library reissued Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with additional materials, renewing interest in Thompson's work.
Published The Rum Diary (written earlier)
The early novel The Rum Diary, based on Thompson's Puerto Rico experiences from the early 1960s, was finally published in 1998.
Film adaptation 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' released
Terry Gilliam's film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (starring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro) was released, generating renewed attention.
Began weekly ESPN.com column 'Hey, Rube'
From 2000 until his death Thompson wrote a weekly column for ESPN.com's Page 2 titled 'Hey, Rube'.
Published Kingdom of Fear (memoir/collection)
Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century was published and widely publicized as his first memoir.
Married Anita Bejmuk
Married long-time assistant Anita Bejmuk on April 23, 2003.
Simon & Schuster published Hey Rube collection
Simon & Schuster collected some ESPN 'Hey, Rube' columns in mid-2004 as Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness.
Final Rolling Stone feature published
Rolling Stone published Thompson's final magazine feature, 'The Fun-Hogs in the Passing Lane: Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004', endorsing John Kerry.
Died by self-inflicted gunshot at Owl Farm
Thompson fatally shot himself at his Woody Creek compound (Owl Farm) on Feb 20, 2005 following health problems; found by his son Juan.
Ashes fired from a cannon at private ceremony
In August 2005 Thompson's ashes were commemorated in a private ceremony where they were shot from a cannon to Bob Dylan's 'Mr. Tambourine Man.'
Film adaptation of The Rum Diary released (posthumous)
The Rum Diary, based on Thompson's early novel, was adapted as a film in 2011 starring Johnny Depp (posthumous adaptation).
Inducted into Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame
Posthumously inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame in 2015.
Key Achievement Ages
Explore what Hunter S. Thompson and others achieved at these notable ages:
Similar Trajectories
Byron Katie
Born 1942 · Age 83
American speaker and author who developed 'The Work', a method of self-inquiry; founder of Byron Katie International and The Work Foundation; author of multiple books including Loving What Is.
Michael Eisner
Born 1942 · Age 83
American media executive; Chairman & CEO of The Walt Disney Company (1984–2005); former president of Paramount Pictures; founder of The Tornante Company and Vuguru; influential in the Disney Renaissance and global expansion of Disney parks and media holdings.
Michael Bloomberg
Born 1942 · Age 83
American businessman, majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., three-term Mayor of New York City (2002–2013), philanthropist and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.
Barry Diller
Born 1942 · Age 83
American media executive and businessman; longtime CEO/chairman of Paramount, 20th Century Fox, founder of the Fox Broadcasting Company, and architect of IAC/InterActiveCorp and a large online commerce portfolio.
Nelson Peltz
Born 1942 · Age 83
American billionaire businessman and activist investor; co-founder of Trian Partners; longtime investor in food, packaging and consumer companies; chairman and board member of multiple corporations.
Robert Shapiro
Born 1942 · Age 83
American attorney and entrepreneur; member of O.J. Simpson's 'Dream Team'; co-founder of LegalZoom and ShoeDazzle; founder of the Brent Shapiro Foundation.