Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was born on August 11, 1921, in Ithaca, New York, and grew up in Henning, Tennessee. He enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939 and discovered his passion for writing during his service. After retiring from the Coast Guard in 1959, he worked as a journalist for Reader’s Digest and Playboy magazine, conducting notable interviews with figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Haley’s most famous work is “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” which traced his own family’s history and became a cultural phenomenon. He received numerous awards and honors for his writing, and his legacy lives on through his influential works. Haley passed away on February 10, 1992, leaving behind a rich literary and historical contribution.
