William Safire
| William Safire | |
|---|---|
Safire receiving the 2006 Presidential Medal of Freedom
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| Born | William Lewis Safir December 17, 1929 New York City, New York, United States |
| Died | September 27, 2009 (aged 79) Rockville, Maryland, United States |
| Occupation | Author, columnist, lexicographer, journalist, political speechwriter |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Subject | Politics |
| Spouse | Helene Belmar Julius |
William Lewis Safire (/ˈsæfaɪər/; December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009) was an American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter.
He was a long-time syndicated political columnist for the New York Times and the author of "On Language" in the New York Times Magazine, a column on popular etymology, new or unusual usages, and other language-related topics from its inception.
Safire was born William Lewis Safir in New York City, New York, the son of Ida (née Panish) and Oliver Craus Safir. His family was Jewish, and originated in Romania on his father's side. Safire later added the "e" to his surname for pronunciation reasons, though some of his relatives continue to use the original spelling. Safire graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, a specialized public high school in New York City. He attended Syracuse University but dropped out after two years. He delivered the commencement address at Syracuse in 1978 and 1990, and became a trustee of the university.
He was a public relations executive from 1955 to 1960. Previously, he had been a radio and television producer and an Army correspondent. He worked as a publicist for a homebuilder who exhibited a model home at an American trade fair at Sokolniki Park in Moscow in 1959—the one in which Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev had their famous Kitchen Debate. A widely circulated black-and-white photograph of the event was taken by Safire. Safire joined Nixon's campaign for the 1960 Presidential race, and again in 1968. After Nixon's 1968 victory, Safire served as a speechwriter for him and for Spiro Agnew; he is well known for having created Agnew's famous term, "nattering nabobs of negativism."
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