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Born in Ithaca, New YorkFor census data on the two municipalities called "Ithaca" see Ithaca (city), New York and Ithaca (town), New York. The city of Ithaca (named for the Greek island of Ithaca in Homer's Odyssey) sits on the southern shores of Cayuga Lake, in upstate New York, Haley grew up in the Southern U.S. and served in the Coast Guard from 1939Events January-June January 2 End of term for Frank Finley Merriam, 28th Governor of California. He is succeeded by Culbert Levy Olson. January 24 Earthquake kills 30. 000 in Chile about 50. 000 sq mi razed January 26 Falangists take Barcelona January 26 to 1959Events January-February January 1 Cultivars of plants named after this date must be named in a modern language, not in Latin. January 1 Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when forces of Fidel Castro advance January 2 CBS Radio cuts four soap operas: Bac, starting as a mess attendant, 3rd class; during this time he started writing short stories and articles. He researched Roots for 12 years; the Roots TV seriesRoots was a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's work Roots: The Saga of an American Family his critically-acclaimed genealogical novel. Roots was a ground-breaking event in U. television history. It received unprecedented Nielsen Rat adaptation aired in 1977For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). Events January 1 First woman Episcopal priest ordained January 6 EMI sacks the Sex Pistols January 18 Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious " legionnaire's disease" Januar. The same year, Haley won a Pulitzer Prize for the book and the Spingarn MedalThe Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the NAACP for outstanding achievement by a Black American. The award, consisting of a gold medal, was created by Joel Elias Spingarn, Chairman of the Board of the NAACP in 1914. It was first given in 1915, and eac as well.
The book and film were both successful, evidently striking a chord in the American psyche and reaching record-breaking 130 million viewers when it was serialized on television. Roots emphasized that African Americans also have a long history and that not all of that history is lost, as many believed. Its popularity sparked an increased public interest in genealogy, as well.