Pulitzer Prize Recipient Author. He is one of the most recognized American authors of the second half of the 20th century. A prolific and popular writer who was known for his extensive research, he is remembered for his 1947 novelTales of the South Pacific, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948, as well as his sweeping family sagas that covered the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporated historical facts into the stories, which included his major worksHawaii in 1959, which was adapted into the 1966 Academy Award nominated film;The Source in 1965;Centennialin 1974, which was made into the popular 12-part NBC television miniseries that ran from October 1978 until February 1979;Chesapeake in 1978,Poland in 1983,Texas in 1985, andAlaska in 1988. Born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, he was raised by an adoptive mother. After graduating from Doylestown High School in 1925, he attended Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia, where he played basketball and graduated in 1929 with high honors. For the next two years, he traveled and studied in Europe. He returned home and took a job as a high school English teacher at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and, in 1933, taught English for three years at George School, in Newtown, Pennsylvania. He then attended Colorado State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Colorado) in Greeley, Colorado, where he earned his Master's Degree and taught there for several years. In 1939, he went to Harvard University at Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a one-year teaching stint and then left teaching to join Macmillan Publishers as their social studies education editor. After the United States entered World War II in December of 1941, he was called to active duty and served in the United States Navy as a lieutenant. He traveled throughout the South Pacific Ocean on various missions that were assigned to him because his commanders thought he was the son of Admiral Marc Mitscher. His travels became the setting for his breakout 1947 novelTales of the South Pacific, which became the basis for the Broadway play and film musical "South Pacific" byRichard Rodgers andOscar Hammerstein II. In the 1950s, he tried his hand at writing for television, but found little success in that medium, except for the television series "Adventures in Paradise" that ran from 1959 until 1962. During this time, he began working as a roving editor forReaders' Guide to Periodical Literature until 1970. His other notable fiction novels includeThe Fires of Spring in 1949;Return to Paradise in 1950, which was adapted into the 1953 film;The Bridges at Toko-ri in 1953, adapted into film the same year;Sayonara in 1954, adapted into the 1957 four-time Academy-Award winning film;Caravans in 1963, which was adapted into the 1978 film;The Drifters in 1971;The Covenant in 1980; Space in 1982, which was adapted into a 1985 television miniseries;Caribbeanin 1989;Journey in 1989;The Novel in 1991;Mexico in 1992; andRecessionalin 1994. His nonfiction books includeThe Voice of Asiain 1951, The Bridge at Andau in 1957,Rascals in Paradise in 1957,Iberia in 1968, andThe Eagle and the Raven in 1990. In 1977, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by PresidentRonald Reagan for his contributions to literature. In 1992, he published his memoirThe World Is My Home. In 1993, he began undergoing daily treatment for dialysis, and, in October 1997, he terminated it. He died of kidney failure at the age of 90. During his lifetime, he contributed over 40 literary works, selling an estimated 75 million copies worldwide. The James A. Michener Art Museum, named in his honor, was opened in 1988 in his hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. In May 2008, the United States Postal Service honored him with a 59-cent Distinguished Americans series postage stamp.

Pulitzer Prize Recipient Author. He is one of the most recognized American authors of the second half of the 20th century. A prolific and popular writer who was known for his extensive research, he is remembered for his 1947 novelTales of the South Pacific, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948, as well as his sweeping family sagas that covered the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporated historical facts into the stories, which included his major worksHawaii in 1959, which was adapted into the 1966 Academy Award nominated film;The Source in 1965;Centennialin 1974, which was made into the popular 12-part NBC television miniseries that ran from October 1978 until February 1979;Chesapeake in 1978,Poland in 1983,Texas in 1985, andAlaska in 1988. Born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, he was raised by an adoptive mother. After graduating from Doylestown High School in 1925, he attended Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia, where he played basketball and graduated in 1929 with high honors. For the next two years, he traveled and studied in Europe. He returned home and took a job as a high school English teacher at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and, in 1933, taught English for three years at George School, in Newtown, Pennsylvania. He then attended Colorado State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Colorado) in Greeley, Colorado, where he earned his Master's Degree and taught there for several years. In 1939, he went to Harvard University at Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a one-year teaching stint and then left teaching to join Macmillan Publishers as their social studies education editor. After the United States entered World War II in December of 1941, he was called to active duty and served in the United States Navy as a lieutenant. He traveled throughout the South Pacific Ocean on various missions that were assigned to him because his commanders thought he was the son of Admiral Marc Mitscher. His travels became the setting for his breakout 1947 novelTales of the South Pacific, which became the basis for the Broadway play and film musical "South Pacific" byRichard Rodgers andOscar Hammerstein II. In the 1950s, he tried his hand at writing for television, but found little success in that medium, except for the television series "Adventures in Paradise" that ran from 1959 until 1962. During this time, he began working as a roving editor forReaders' Guide to Periodical Literature until 1970. His other notable fiction novels includeThe Fires of Spring in 1949;Return to Paradise in 1950, which was adapted into the 1953 film;The Bridges at Toko-ri in 1953, adapted into film the same year;Sayonara in 1954, adapted into the 1957 four-time Academy-Award winning film;Caravans in 1963, which was adapted into the 1978 film;The Drifters in 1971;The Covenant in 1980; Space in 1982, which was adapted into a 1985 television miniseries;Caribbeanin 1989;Journey in 1989;The Novel in 1991;Mexico in 1992; andRecessionalin 1994. His nonfiction books includeThe Voice of Asiain 1951, The Bridge at Andau in 1957,Rascals in Paradise in 1957,Iberia in 1968, andThe Eagle and the Raven in 1990. In 1977, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by PresidentRonald Reagan for his contributions to literature. In 1992, he published his memoirThe World Is My Home. In 1993, he began undergoing daily treatment for dialysis, and, in October 1997, he terminated it. He died of kidney failure at the age of 90. During his lifetime, he contributed over 40 literary works, selling an estimated 75 million copies worldwide. The James A. Michener Art Museum, named in his honor, was opened in 1988 in his hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. In May 2008, the United States Postal Service honored him with a 59-cent Distinguished Americans series postage stamp.

What was James A. famous for?