Hunter S Thompson lived from July 18, 1937 through February 20, 2005. He is credited as the founding father of Gonzo Journalism, a type of journalism that breaks the rules of traditional contemporary journalistic style of a neutral recitation of events excluding the author and her opinions as much as possible.
Thompson went against the standards of American journalism by including himself in his articles. As a result he became the central protagonist. This approach to journalism appeals to a more diverse audience as it tells a story not only to the reader who is interested in an event, but also to a reader who may be more interested in reading about a character, in this case, Hunter S. Thompson.
As an author he is best known for the novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and as a journalist Hunter Thompson gained notoriety by writing for Rolling Stone Magazine. In addition to writing, Hunter Stockton Thompson was famous for his use of alcohol, psychedelic drugs, weapons, and his contempt for authority which lead to frequent attempts at iconoclasm.
Although you could find an almost limitless collection of memorable Hunter S. Thompson quotes flipping through his books, these are some of the most memorable
And stealing from himself Hunter Thompson said of the TV business:
Fact1: While a student at Louisville Male High School in 1952Hunter S. Thompson was accepted to the Athenaeum Literary Association, a school-sponsored literary and social club which included Porter Bibb, who became the first publisher of Rolling Stone as a member. Hunter Thompson was later kicked out of the club in 1955 after he was convicted as an accessory to robbery.
Fact2: Thompson got his start in journalism as a member of the air force writing for The Command Courier.
Fact3: Hunter Thompson copied F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms by typewriter to learn about the respective author's writing sytles
Fact4: After his career in the military Hunter S. Thompson was fired from his first two jobs, first Time fired him for insubordination then The Middletown Daily Record fired him for damaging a candy machine and arguing with an advertiser in the paper. He lost his third job in San Juan, Puerto Rico when the sporting magazine El Sportivo folded soon after his hire.
Fact5: After San Juan, Thompson moved to New York, Brazil, Aspen, California and finally back to Aspen.
Fact6: Hunter S. Thompson's first wife Sandy had six pregnancies, but only one, Juan Fitzgerald Thompson, survived. Three were miscarried, the other two produced infants who died shortly after birth. The Thompson's divorced in 1980 but remained close friends until Hunter S. Thompson's death.
Fact7: Hunter S. Thompson lived in San Francisco for a period of his life in which he embraced the hippy culture.
Fact8: In 1970 Thompson ran for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado, under the ticket of legalizing drugs for personal use. He lost only because the Republican candidate dropped out of the race, conceding his votes to the Democratic candidate to prevent Thompson from winning.
Fact9: Hunter S. Thompson's first published piece of Gonzo Journalism was "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved" for Scanlan's Monthly.
Fact10: Thompson's writing style is known to blur between fiction and non fiction