James A. Michener

James A. (Albert) Michener, born around 1907, won the Pulitzer Prize for his first fiction, Tales of the South Pacific. The bestselling book was adapted into the popular musical and film, South Pacific. Michener's numerous bestselling novels also included The Source, Centennial, Texas, Hawaii, and Chesapeake. He also successfully wrote non-fiction, including travel stories and a memoir. Michener grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and graduated summa cum laude from Swarthmore College. Following graduation, he traveled in Europe, and taught English at several private high schools. Michener returned to school at Colorado State Teachers College (now known as the University of Northern Colorado) to earn a master's degree. He taught there and at Harvard before working as an editor. Michener served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, traveling throughout the South Pacific Ocean on numerous missions. His experiences in the Pacific inspired Tales of the South Pacific. Though he tried a career in politics, Michener found greatest success in writing. During his lifetime, he sold an estimated seventy-five million books worldwide. His novel Hawaii was adapted into a film, and Centennial became a hit twelve-part mini-series. Michener also wrote screenplays, including Sayonara and The Bridges of Toko-Ri. Michener donated much of his earnings, sharing over $100 million with numerous beneficiaries. He died in 1997.