Biography of William Safire

William Safire is a winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary and served from 1995 to 2004 as a member of the Pulitzer Board. From 1972 to early 2005, he wrote a political column on the Op-ed pages of The New York Times, and continues to write a Sunday column, “On Language,” which has appeared in The New York Times Magazine since 1979. This column on grammar, usage and etymology has led to the publication of 14 books and makes him the most widely read writer on the English language. William Safire was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, in a White House ceremony held December 16, 2006.

Before joining The Times, Mr. Safire was a senior White House speechwriter for President Nixon. He had previously been a radio and television producer, a U.S. Army correspondent, and began his career as a reporter for a profiles column in The New York Herald Tribune.

From 1955 to 1960, William Safire was a public relations executive in New York City. He was responsible for bringing Mr. Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev together in the 1959 Moscow “kitchen” debate to publicize his client’s kitchen. In 1968, he left to join the campaign of Richard Nixon.

He is the author of four novels, including “Freedom,” a novel of Lincoln and the Civil War. His dictionary, “The New Language of Politics,” has helped 2 generations of politicians and voters understand one another. His anthology of great speeches, “Lend Me Your Ears,” is the best seller in that field.

William Safire was born on December 17, 1929, and attended Syracuse University; a dropout after two years, he returned a generation later to deliver the commencement address and is now a trustee. He is now chairman and chief executive of the Dana Foundation, a philanthropy supporting brain science, immunology, and arts education.