Name: ___________________________________ Date: ________________________

Alex Haley Biography

Author Alex Haley, born on August 11, 1921, was a major historical figure in literature and

in Black History. He faced tragedy at a young age when his mother died while he was

10 years old. Alex’s father was a college dean and worked long hours, but he

continued to instill in Alex the importance of education. Graduating from high school at

only 15 years old, Alex went to college early, but only stayed for two years. He enlisted,

or signed up to serve in the Coast Guard and did a lot of reading and writing while on

the ships. This ignited in Alex a passion to become an author.

Although he worked with the Coast Guard for 20 years, he tried dozens of times to

get a book published. He was always rejected. Then in 1959, Alex agreed to interview

the famous Civil Rights activist Malcolm X which led to his first published novel: The

Autobiography of Malcolm X. The book wasn’t published until 1966, but Haley was now

well-known for his writing skills.

© Tanya G. Marshall, The Butterfly Teacher

He immediately began working on his next

writing project—researching his family tree all

the way back to Africa. It took him 10 years,

but in February 1976, Alex Haley published his

most famous book, Roots: The Saga of an

American Family.

This book has inspired millions of Americans to

trace their family ancestry and better

understand slavery in America. Haley died of a

heart attack on February 10, 1992. He will

always be remembered for inspiring others to

take pride in their family heritage.

Name: ___________________________________________ Date: ________________________

Alex Haley Biography QuestionsUse the context clues in your biography to answer these questions in complete

sentences.

1- Why is Alex Haley an important figure in American and Black History? _______________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2- What tragedy did Alex Haley face as a child? ___________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3- Name both of Alex Haley’s careers? _____________________________________________________________________

4- What other important historical figure did Alex Haley interview for his first book?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5- When was Alex Haley born ? ___________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6- How long did it take Alex Haley to research and write a book about his family tree?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7- What does ‘enlisted’ mean? ____________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8- How long was Alex Haley in college? ____________________________________________________________________

9- When and how did Alex Haley pass away? ______________________________________________________________

10- What has Alex Haley inspired millions of Americans to do ? __________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

© Tanya G. Marshall, The Butterfly Teacher

Alex Haley Timeline

Complete this timeline of

events for Alex’s life.

You should have a total of 6

events on this timeline—which includes his birth and death. And four of them

should have the dates besides

them.

Alex’s death

Alex’s birth

Name: __________________________________

© Tanya G. Marshall, The Butterfly Teacher