Alex Haley facts for kids

Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an African-American writer. He also had Irish and, according to his own telling, some Cherokee ancestry. He was born in Ithaca, New York. He is best known for The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which he helped Malcolm X write, and his book Roots: The Saga of an American Family, which was about his family history and inspired a television mini-series. He died of a heart attack in Seattle, Washington.

Haley family lineage

Members of his family lineage that can be confirmed:

• Parents: Simon Alexander Haley [1892-1973] married 1919 1st wife Bertha George Palmer [1897-1932]
• Paternal Grandparents: Alex Haley [1845-1918] and 2nd wife Queen Jackson [1857-1941] Natural daughter of James Jackson of Alabama [1822-1879]
• Maternal Grandparents:Cynthia Babica [Murray] [1875-1949] married to William Edward Palmer [1872-1926][Son of George Palmer and Salena Groves]
• Maternal Great Grandparents:Tom Lea/Lea Murray [b.1833-?] married 1859 to Arena Holt [1841-1908] [Daughter of "Hillian" (b.1815)]
• Maternal Great Great Grandparents: "Chicken George" Lea [1806-1890] married Mathilda McGreggor Murray Lea [b.1806-?]

Images for kids

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  Haley's boyhood home at Henning, Tennessee, in 2007.

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  Haley during his tenure in the U.S. Coast Guard

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  The Autobiography of Malcolm X, first edition (1965)

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  Roots: The Saga of an American Family, first edition (1976)

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  Historical marker in front of Alex Haley's boyhood home at Henning, Tennessee in 2007.

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  Haley's grave beside his boyhood home at Henning, Tennessee in 2010.

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  Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial in Annapolis, Maryland.