Alexander Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an African American writer (though he was also proud of his Irish and Cherokee ancestry). He is best known for the The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which he ghostwrote, and his book The Saga of an American Family.

Life

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Born in Ithaca, New York, Haley grew up in the South. Haley's father Simon was a professor of agriculture who had also served in World War I. Haley always spoke proudly of his father and the incredible obstacles of racism he had overcome. On May 24, 1939 Haley began his 20-year service with the Coast Guard.

He enlisted as a Seaman and then became a third class Petty Officer in the rate of Mess Attendant, one of the few enlisted designators open to African Americans at that time. It was during his service in the Pacific theater of operations that Haley taught himself the craft of writing stories. He talked of how the greatest enemy he and his crew faced during their long sea voyages wasn't the Japanese but boredom. He collected many rejection slips over an eight-year period before his first story was bought.

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