Born: Alexander Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992)

Haley grew up in the South in an African American family. Haley had a 20-year service with the Coast Guard, where he taught himself how to write to relieve the boredom of the long sea voyages. Haley has five books to his name: The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), Roots: The Saga of an American Family (1976), A Different Kind of Christmas (1988), Queen: The Story of an American Family (1993) (completed by David Stevens after Haley's death), and Mama Flora's Family (1998) (completed by David Stevens after Haley's death).