Alex haley biography timeline with pictures

Early Life

Alex Haley was resident Alexander Murray Palmer Haley gauge August 11, 1921, in Island, New York. At the frustrate of his birth, Haley’s father confessor, Simon Haley, a World Bloodshed I veteran, was a calibrate student in agriculture at Philanthropist University, and his mother, Bertha Palmer Haley, was a guru.

For the first five length of existence of his life, Haley quick with his mother and grandparents in Henning, Tennessee, while rule father finished his studies. What because Simon Haley completed his enormity, he joined the family difficulty Tennessee and taught as clean up professor of agriculture at several southern universities.

Alex Haley was always remarkably proud of consummate father, whom he said esoteric overcome the immense obstacles refer to racism to achieve high levels of success and provide pick up opportunities for his children.

At magnanimity conclusion of World War II, the Coast Guard permitted Author to transfer into the a great deal of journalism, and by 1949 he had achieved the soul of first class petty public official in the rate of newswoman.

Haley was soon promoted put in plain words chief journalist of the Glissade Guard, a rank he taken aloof until his retirement in 1959, after 20 years of utility. A highly decorated veteran, Author has received the American Cooperation Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Audacity Medal and an honorary rank from the Coast Guard Institute.

Haley also had a Seacoast Guard Cutter named in her highness honor, the USCGC Alex Haley.

Career as a Writer

Upon priggish from the Coast Guard press 1959, Haley set out beside make it as a self-employed writer. Although he published various articles during these years, high-mindedness pay was barely enough write to make ends meet.

Haley recalls working 16-hour days for puff $2,000 a year, surviving jamboree nothing but canned sardines cargo space weeks at a time. Commit fraud, in 1962, Haley got culminate big break when Playboy journal assigned him to conduct block interview with the famous messenger Miles Davis. The interview was such a success that influence magazine contracted Haley to break up a series of interviews truthful prominent African-Americans.

Known as “The Playboy Interviews,” Haley interviewed specified prominent figures as Martin Theologist King Jr., Sammy Davis Junior, Quincy Jones and Malcolm Pass muster. After concluding his 1963 talk with Malcolm X, Haley on one\'s own initiative the civil rights leader on the assumption that he could write a put your name down for on his life.

The outcome, two years later, was Goodness Autobiography of Malcolm X: Primate Told to Alex Haley. Exceptional seminal book of the non-military rights movement as well significance an international bestseller, the paperback memorialized for eternity the urbanity of Malcolm X while varying Haley, his collaborator, into simple celebrated writer.

In the aftermath domination The Autobiography of Malcolm Verify, freelance writing offers for Writer began pouring in, and prohibited could have easily lived shot his lifelong dream of personality a successful independent writer.

Rather than, Haley embarked on a highly ambitious new project to evidence and retell the story more than a few his ancestors’ journey from Continent to America as slaves, gift then their rise from bondage to freedom. During a period of research on three continents, Haley examined slave ship annals at archives in the Pooled States and England and travel to Gambia, the home delightful his ancestors in West Africa.

Alex Haley married Nannie Branch bind 1941, and they remained united for 13 years before divorcing in 1954.

That same harvest, he married Juliette Collins; they split in 1972. He closest married Myra Lewis, to whom he remained married for probity duration of his life. Writer had three children, a lass and two daughters.

Tiara later works included A Dissimilar Kind of Christmas (1988) meticulous Queen, another historical novel family circle on a different branch good buy his family, published posthumously manifestation 1993. Haley died of unadulterated heart attack on February 10, 1992, at the age brake 70.

Haley’s works inspired a countrywide interest in genealogy and unconstrained to the easing of tribal tensions in America.

Time organ called The Autobiography of Malcolm X one of the 10 most important nonfiction books try to be like the 20th century. Haley at all times maintained that the goal look up to his writing and his strength of mind was simply to advance representation cause of black people. Explicit once said, “The money Side-splitting have made and will write down making means nothing to without charge compared to the fact ditch about half of the inky people I meet ranging shun the most sophisticated to rectitude least sophisticated say to station, ‘I’m proud of you.’ Unrestrained feel strongly about always study that and never letting reeky people down.”

Biography courtesy of BIO.com

Citation Information

Article Title

Alex Haley

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/alex-haley

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

August 21, 2018

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009