World traveler and author who wrote Tales of the South Pacific, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948. His other literary works include The Fires of Spring, The Drifters, Chesapeake, and Caravans. After graduating from Swarthmore College and Colorado State Teachers College, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His wartime experiences inspired his famous work, Tales of the South Pacific.
