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William F. Buckley was born on November 24, 1925, in New York City, the sixth of ten children in a devoutly Roman Catholic family. Because his grandfather had made a fortune in the oil business, Buckley's childhood in Connecticut was one of wealth and privilege, but also one of discipline and intellectual rigor. He was educated in England and France, and graduated from the Millbrook School in Millbrook, NY, in 1943.
Buckley's first language had been Spanish, having been raised by Mexican nannies, and he now studied at the University of Mexico before being drafted into the Army in 1944. After being discharged in 1946, he worked briefly for the CIA. He then attended Yale University, graduating in 1950. Shortly thereafter, at the age of 25, he became a literary sensation with the publication of his book, "God and Man at Yale," a scathing indictment of what would later be called "political correctness."
Buckley founded National Review magazine in 1955, at a time when the words "conservative" and "intellectual" were rarely seen in the same sentence. His magazine revolutionized political thinking, and had a profound affect on conservative leaders such as Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. He became even more influential when his newspaper column, "On the Right," was syndicated in 1962. In 1965 he ran for mayor of New York under the Conservative Party banner and received 13.4 of the vote.
What finally propelled Buckley to iconic status was his weekly television show, "Firing Line." He had been a skilled debater at Yale, and viewers loved to watch him spar with such guests as Norman Mailer, Germaine Greer, the Dalai Lama, and Groucho Marx. A disturbing Psychology Today poll conducted in the early Seventies found that an alarmingly high percentage of women fantasized about Buckley while having sex with their husbands.
With the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, Buckley and his wife, Pat, became the most sought-after socialites in Washington. His Blackford Oakes spy novels were consistent best sellers. With the high life, however, came controversy. Many were shocked at Buckley's callous response in the early years of the AIDS epidemic; he went so far as to suggest that those who suffered from the disease should be tattooed on their backsides.
In the early 1990's, Buckley stepped down as editor of National Review, though he continued on as a contributing editor, and devoted more time to such passions as sailing and playing the harpsichord. He broadcast his last "Firing Line" in the year 2000.
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