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James A. Michener

Born February 3, 1907(1907-02-03)
- Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States
Died October 16, 1997 (aged 90)
- Austin, Texas, United States
Occupation Novelist
Short story writer
Genres Historical Fiction

James Albert Michener (February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American author of more than 40 titles, the majority of which are novels of sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in a particular geographic locale and incorporating historical facts into the story as well. Events 1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry uniting the fortunes of those two states Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Doylestown is a Borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 34 miles (55 km north of Philadelphia. Bucks County is a County located in the US state of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction Events 1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry uniting the fortunes of those two states Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Michener was known for the meticulous research behind his work. Because his books tend to be fairly long, it is sometimes said that "Michener tends to write by the pound. "

Michener's major books include Tales of the South Pacific (for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948), Hawaii, The Drifters, Centennial, The Source, The Fires of Spring, Chesapeake, Caribbean, Caravans, Alaska, Texas, and Poland. Tales of the South Pacific is a Pulitzer Prize winning collection of sequentially related short stories about World War II, written by James The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded since 1948 for distinguished fiction by an American author preferably dealing with American life Hawaii is a novel by James Michener published in 1959. Written in episodic format like most of Michener's works the book narrates the story of the original The Drifters is a novel by Pulitzer Prize winner James A Michener; published by Random House in 1971 Centennial was a novel written by American author James Michener and published in 1974 The Source is a Historical novel by James A Michener, first published in 1965. Chesapeake is a novel by James A Michener, published by Random House in 1978. The Historical novel Caribbean (1989 written by James A Michener, depicts the History of the Caribbean region from the time of Caravans, a novel by James A Michener was published in 1962. The story is set in Afghanistan immediately following World War II Alaska is a Historical novel by James A Michener. Like other Michener titles Alaska spans a considerable amount of time Texas (1985 is a novel by James A Michener based on the history of the The Lone Star State. Poland is a 1981 Novel by James A Michener detailing the times and tribulations of three Polish families (The Lubonski Family The Bukowski His nonfiction works include his 1968 Iberia about his travels in Spain and Portugal, his 1992 memoir The World is My Home, and Sports in America. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Iberia, by James A Michener (original title Iberia Spanish Travels and Reflections) is a detailed and illustrated exploration of Spain at Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar)

Contents

History

Michener wrote that he did not know who his parents were or exactly when and where he was born. He was raised a Quaker by an adoptive mother, Mabel Michener, in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Doylestown is a Borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 34 miles (55 km north of Philadelphia. Bucks County is a County located in the US state of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern Some people later argued that Mabel was in fact his biological mother but he refused to talk about that.

In 1960, Michener was chairman of the Bucks County committee to elect John F. Kennedy, and subsequently, in 1962, ran for the United States Congress, a decision he later considered a misstep. John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses "My mistake was to run in 1962 as a Democrat candidate for Congress. [My wife] kept saying, "Don't do it, don't do it. " I lost and went back to writing books. "

Education

Michener graduated from Doylestown High School in 1925. He attended Swarthmore College, where he played basketball, and joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1500 students Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m History Founding Phi Beta Kappa was the first Greek letter organization founded in the United States when it was created on December 5 1776 at the College He graduated with highest honors. He taught English at George School, in Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1933-36, then attended Colorado State Teachers College (in Greeley, Colorado), earned his master's degree, and then taught there for several years. George School is a private Quaker boarding and day High school near Newtown Pennsylvania, USA. The University of Northern Colorado, often called UNC or Northern Colorado is a coeducational public institution of higher education and research located in Greeley The City of Greeley is a Home Rule Municipality that is the County seat and the most populous city of Weld County, Colorado, United The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. He also taught at Harvard University. The library at the University of Northern Colorado is named for him.

Writing career

Michener's writing career began during World War II, when, as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, he was assigned to the South Pacific Ocean as a naval historian; he later turned his notes and impressions into Tales of the South Pacific, his first book, which was the basis for the Broadway and film musical South Pacific. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions Tales of the South Pacific is a Pulitzer Prize winning collection of sequentially related short stories about World War II, written by James South Pacific is a musical, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by both Hammerstein and Joshua It was published when he was 40.

In the late 1950s, Michener began working as a roving editor for Readers Guide. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive He gave up that work in 1970. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Michener was a very popular writer during his lifetime and his novels sold an estimated 75 million copies worldwide [1]. His novel Hawaii (published in 1959) was based on extensive historical research. Hawaii is a novel by James Michener published in 1959. Written in episodic format like most of Michener's works the book narrates the story of the original The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Nearly all of his subsequent novels were based on detailed historical, cultural, and even geological research. Centennial, which documented several generations of families in the West, was made into a popular twelve part television miniseries of the same name that aired on NBC from October 1978 through February 1979. Centennial was a novel written by American author James Michener and published in 1974

In 1996, State House Press published "James A. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Michener: A Bibliography" compiled by David A. Groseclose. It contains over 2,500 entries from 1923 to 1995 including magazine articles, forewords, books, and other works. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995

His prodigious output made for lengthy novels several of which run over 1,000 pages. The author states in My Lost Mexico that at times he would spend 12 to 15 hours per day at his typewriter for weeks on end and that he used so much paper his filing system had trouble keeping up.

Spouses

He was married three times. His second wife was Vange Nord (married in 1948). Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Michener met his third wife Mari Yoriko Sabusawa at a luncheon in Chicago and they were married in 1955 (the same year as his divorce from Nord). The City of Las Animas is a Statutory City that is the County seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Bent County, Colorado Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) His novel Sayonara is pseudo-autobiographical. Sayonara ( 1957) is a Film which tells the story of an American Air Force flier who was a fighter "Ace" during the

Charity

Michener gave away a great deal of the money he earned, contributing more than $100 million to universities, libraries, museums, and other charitable causes.

Awards

In 1948, Michener won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Tales of the South Pacific. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded since 1948 for distinguished fiction by an American author preferably dealing with American life Tales of the South Pacific is a Pulitzer Prize winning collection of sequentially related short stories about World War II, written by James

On January 10, 1977, Michener was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Gerald R. Ford. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays The Presidential Medal of Freedom is a decoration bestowed by the President of the United States and is along with the equivalent Congressional Gold Medal bestowed Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr (July 14 1913 December 26 2006 was the thirty-eighth President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 and the fortieth Vice President

Final years and death

In his final years, he lived in Austin, Texas, and, aside from being a prominent celebrity fan of the Texas Longhorns women's basketball team, he founded an MFA program now named the Michener Center for Writers. Texas Longhorns athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of The University of Texas at Austin. The Texas Longhorns women's Basketball team represents The University of Texas at Austin and competes in the Big 12 Conference. In the United States, a Master of Fine Arts ( MFA) is a Graduate degree typically requiring two to three years of study beyond the Bachelor's degree The Michener Center for Writers is an interdisciplinary Masters of Fine Arts program in fiction poetry playwriting and screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin.

In October 1997, Michener ended the daily dialysis treatment that had kept him alive for four years and as a result he died not long after. He was 90 years old.

He was buried in Austin, TX, and is also honored by a monument at the Texas State Cemetery.

James A. Michener Art Museum

Opened in 1988 in Michener's hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the James A. Doylestown is a Borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 34 miles (55 km north of Philadelphia. Michener Art Museum houses collections of local and well-known artists. The museum, constructed from the remains of the old prison, is a non-profit organization, with both permanent and rotating collections. Two prominent permanent fixtures are the James A. Michener display room and the Nakashima Reading Room, constructed in honor of his third wife's Japanese heritage. The museum is known for its permanent collection of Pennsylvania Impressionistic Paintings.

Works

See also

External links

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