How It All Went Down

Jan 7, 1891

Zora Neale Hurston Born

Zora Neale Hurston is born in Notasulga, Alabama. She is the fifth of eight children born to John and Lucy Potts Hurston.

1892

Move to Eatonville

The Hurston family moves to Eatonville, an incorporated, self-governed, all-black town north of Orlando, Florida. Incorporated in 1887, it is the oldest such town in the United States.

1904

Mother Dies

Hurston's mother Lucy Potts Hurston dies. Soon after, her father marries Mattie Moge, a young woman only six years older than Zora. Hurston and her new stepmother bitterly dislike each other.

1917

Twentysomething High-Schooler

After leaving home and school and working a number of odd jobs to support herself, Hurston moves to Baltimore, Maryland. In order to qualify for a free high school education, 26-year-old Hurston lies about her age, claiming her birth year as 1901. She maintains the falsehood until her death.

Jun 1918

High School Graduation

Hurston completes her high school graduation requirements at Morgan Academy in Baltimore. After graduation, she works as a waitress and a manicurist to earn money.

1919

Hurston at Howard University

Hurston enrolls at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

1920

Associate Degree

Hurston receives her associate degree from Howard.

1921

Hurston Publishes First Story

"John Redding Goes to Sea," Zora Neale Hurston's first short story, is published in the Howard literary magazine Stylus.

Dec 1924

"Drenched in Light"

Hurston's short story "Drenched in Light" is published in the journal Opportunity.

1925

Transfer to Barnard College

Hurston submits the short story "Spunk" and the play Color Struck to a literary contest sponsored by Opportunity and wins second place for both. In the same year, she receives a scholarship to Barnard College and transfers, studying anthropology with the scholar Franz Boas.

1926

Hurston Visits Harlem

Hurston travels to Harlem to conduct field research for Boas on black life. She meets several other young black artists, including Langston Hughes. Several of Hurston's short stories are published during this time. She and Hughes also launch the short-lived but influential black literary journal Fire!!

1927

Hurston Marries Herbert Sheen

Hurston travels to Florida to research black communities there. On 19 May, Hurston marries Herbert Sheen, a fellow Howard student.

May 1928

"How It Feels To Be Colored Me"

Her essay "How It Feels To Be Colored Me" appears in The World Tomorrow. By this time, Hurston's marriage to Sheen is beginning to disintegrate.

1930

Hurston-Hughes Estrangement

She and Langston Hughes work on a play entitled Mule Bone. They disagree over authorship of the play and by 1931, their friendship ends. Hurston deeply regrets the split with Hughes.

Jul 7, 1931

Divorce

Hurston's divorce from Herbert Sheen becomes final.

Jan 10, 1932

The Great Day

The Great Day, a musical written and choreographed by Hurston, premieres on Broadway.

May 1934

Hurston's First Novel

Hurston's first novel, Jonah's Gourd Vine, is published. Her essays and short stories appear frequently in literary journals. She begins to study for a doctorate (never completed) at Columbia University with the help of a Rosenwald Fellowship.

1935

Mules and Men

Hurston publishes a collection of black folklore entitled Mules and Men.

1936

Obeah Research in Jamaica

Hurston is awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to study obeah, the practice of sorcery in the West Indies. From April to September she conducts research in Jamaica.

1937

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Her Guggenheim fellowship extended, Hurston continues her research in Haiti. While there, she writes Their Eyes Were Watching God in seven weeks. She returns to the United States shortly before the 18 September publication of the novel.

1938

Tell My Horse

Hurston writes and publishes Tell My Horse, an account of West Indian obeah practices based on her research.

1939

Federal Writers' Project

Hurston is hired by the Federal Writers' Project to record African-American culture in Florida. Later in the year she accepts a position as a drama instructor at North Carolina College for Negroes. Her novel Moses, Man of the Mountain is published. She marries her lover, Albert Price III.

1942

Dust Tracks on a Road

Her memoir Dust Tracks on a Road is published to critical praise. It receives the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for its take on race relations.

1943

Second Divorce

After a brief and tumultuous marriage, Hurston and Price's divorce is finalized.

1947

Seraph on the Swanee

Hurston moves to Honduras to research the black experience in Central America. She writes the novel Seraph on the Swanee, which is published the following year.

1950

Domestic Work

A financially strapped Hurston takes a job as a maid in Florida. She continues to publish well-regarded essays in the Saturday Evening Post and other publications.

1952

Hurston as Reporter

The Pittsburgh Courier hires Hurston to cover the sensational case of Ruby McCollum, a black woman who shot and killed her white lover, whom she accused of forcing her to have sex.

1957

Newspaper Columnist

Hurston begins a two-year stint as a columnist for the Fort Pierce Chronicle. During this time she also works as a substitute teacher at a local school.

1959

Stroke

Hurston suffers a stroke and is forced to move into the St. Lucie County Welfare Home.

Jan 28, 1960

Death of Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston dies of hypertensive heart disease at the St. Lucie County Welfare Home. Penniless and alone at the time of her death, her neighbors take up a collection to pay for her funeral. She is buried in an unmarked grave.

Aug 1973

Rediscovery by Alice Walker

Intrigued by Hurston's life story, the writer Alice Walker locates the site of her grave and purchases a headstone for it. The inscription reads "Zora Neale Hurston: A Genius of the South."