Alex Haley
| Alex Haley | |
|---|---|
Haley during his tenure in the U.S. Coast Guard
|
|
| Born | Alexander Murray Palmer Haley August 11, 1921 Ithaca, New York, United States |
| Died | February 10, 1992 (aged 70) Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Alma mater |
Alcorn State University Elizabeth City State College |
| Spouse | Nannie Branch (1941–1964) Juliette Collins (1964–1972) Myra Lewis (1977–1992)(his death) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | US |
| Service/branch |  United States Coast Guard |
| Years of service | 1939–1959 |
| Rank |
 Chief Petty Officer
|
| Battles/wars | |
Alexander Murray Palmer "Alex" Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family. ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and aired it in 1977 to a record-breaking audience of 130 million viewers. In the United States the book and miniseries raised the public awareness of African American history and inspired a broad interest in genealogy and family history.
Haley's first book was The Autobiography of Malcolm X, published in 1965, a collaboration through numerous lengthy interviews with the subject, a major African-American leader.
He was working on a second family history novel at his death. Haley had requested that David Stevens, a screenwriter, complete it; the book was published as Alex Haley's Queen. It was adapted as a film of the same name released in 1992.
Alex Haley was born in Ithaca, New York, on August 11, 1921, and was the oldest of three brothers and a sister. Haley lived with his family in Henning, Tennessee, before returning to Ithaca with his family when he was five years old. Haley's father was Simon Haley, a professor of agriculture at Alabama A&M University, and his mother was Bertha George Haley (née Palmer), who had grown up in Henning. The family had African American, Mandinka, Cherokee, Scottish, and Scots-Irish roots. The younger Haley always spoke proudly of his father and the obstacles of racism he had overcome.
Like his father, Alex Haley was enrolled at age 15 in Alcorn State University, a historically black college in Mississippi and, a year later, enrolled at Elizabeth City State College, also historically black, in North Carolina. The following year he returned to his father and stepmother to tell them he had withdrawn from college. His father felt that Alex needed discipline and growth, and convinced him to enlist in the military when he turned 18. On May 24, 1939, Alex Haley began what became a 20-year career in the United States Coast Guard.
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