William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley, Jr., born in 1925 and passed away in 2008, was an influential American author, conservative commentator, and public intellectual. Buckley is renowned for founding the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosting 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and writing a nationally syndicated newspaper column. He was admired for his erudite writing style, sharp wit, and extensive vocabulary. \n \nBuckley's impact on American conservatism is significant, as he fused traditional political conservatism with economic libertarianism and anti-communism, creating the foundation for the modern American conservatism of US Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and US President Ronald Reagan. He is the father of author Christopher Buckley and left behind an impressive body of work that includes more than fifty books on topics such as writing, speaking, history, politics, and sailing, as well as a series of mystery novels featuring CIA agent Blackford Oakes. Buckley occasionally identified himself as either libertarian or conservative. \n \nRaised in New York City and Stamford, Connecticut, Buckley was a devout Catholic, frequently attending the traditional Latin Mass in Connecticut. Among his many accolades, Buckley is regarded as "arguably the most important public intellectual in the United States in the past half century" by historian George H. Nash. Buckley often signed his name as "WFB" and was an accomplished and in-demand lecturer in addition to his work as a writer and television host. \n \nBuckley's literary contributions include writing critically acclaimed books like God and Man at Yale (1951) and numerous bestselling fictional novels. His eloquence and engaging speaking style made him a popular and often booked guest on television programs, while his newspaper column reached a wide audience. Buckley's legacy as an influential author, commentator, and public intellectual continues to inspire and resonate with readers and thinkers to this day.