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 "", which was about his family history and inspired a television mini-series. He died of a heart attack in Seattle, Washington.