Scottish novelist Alistair MacLean died - On this day in history

Alistair Maclean, the author of novels including Ice Station Zebra and The Guns of Navarone, died on 2 February 1987 in Munich. Maclean began writing as a student, to earn extra money, and began to write as a novelist when the publisher of his short stories asked for a longer piece of fiction. His book HMS Ulysses was based on his own experiences serving with the Royal Navy during World War Two.