American writer James Michener (circa 1907 – 1997) was born to unknown parents. He was taken in by Mabel Michener who lived in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and who worked as a foster carer.

Mabel never formally adopted James, but he remained with her until he left home.

James Michener did well at school and attained a scholarship to Swarthmore College. When he graduated in 1929, he briefly took up a teaching post but in 1930 was selected for a fellowship so he could travel & study in Scotland.

Michener served as a naval historian in the South Pacific during the 1940s and his collection of short stories about that experience, Tales of the South Pacific, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948. Tales of the South Pacific was adapted for a Rodgers & Hammerstein musical the following year, and the musical also won a Pulitzer Prize.