Alex Haley
American biographer, screenwriter, and novelist (1921-1992) · United States · On the map · Writers · Died at 70
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley 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.
Alex Haley is read about 561 times a day, in 44 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026
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Haley's boyhood home at Henning, Tennessee, in 2007
Haley during his service in the U.S. Coast Guard
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, first edition (1965)
Roots: The Saga of an American Family, first edition (1976)
Historical marker in front of Haley's boyhood home at Henning, Tennessee, in 2007
Haley's grave beside his boyhood home at Henning, Tennessee, in 2010
USCGC Alex Haley (WMEC-39)Awards
About this person
In the United States, the book and miniseries raised the public awareness of black 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 Malcolm X.
