Original: Neal Leon Cassady ( February 8 , 1926 -- February 4 , 1968 ) was a major figure of the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the psychedelic movement of the 1960s , perhaps best known for being characterized as Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac 's novel On the Road .
Simplified: Neal Cassady ( February 8 , 1926 - February 4 , 1968 ) was a member of the Beat Generation circle of writers and poets , of the 1950s and 1960s .