Alex Haley

Profession: Writer

Nationality:

Biography: Alex Haley was an American writer best known for writing The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965) and Roots: The Saga of an American Family (1976). Roots in particular, through its subsequent television miniseries adaptation, propelled a wave of interest in genealogy and African American historical narratives.

Haley was born in New York, but was raised in Tennessee. He was the eldest among his siblings, with two younger brothers and a half-sister from his father's later marriage. His father, Simon Haley, was a college professor. Haley embarked on higher education but left to join the U.S. Coast Guard. He served for two decades, rising to the role of the service's first chief journalist.

His tenure with the Coast Guard laid the groundwork for Haley's writing career, which flourished as he became a senior editor at Reader's Digest upon retirement. He also conducted interviews for Playboy magazine, including with pivotal Civil Rights era figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Haley went on to a collaborative effort with Malcolm X on an autobiography, which ultimtately resulted in them winning the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in 1966.

Haley's seminal work, Roots, delved into his own genealogy, linking his lineage to The Gambia, and illustrated the enslavement and life of his forebears in America. It won a special Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a widely acclaimed television miniseries.

Haley passed away in 1992, with his second historical novel, Queen: The Story of an American Family, left unfinished. It was later completed by David Stevens and published posthumously.

Born: August 11, 1921
Birthplace: Ithaca, New York, USA

Generation: Greatest Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Rooster
Star Sign: Leo

Died: February 10, 1992 (aged 70)
Cause of Death: Cardiac arrest