William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, public thinker, political commentator, and novelist.
He was born in New York City and first learned to speak Spanish before studying French and English as a child. During World War II, he served in the United States Army in the United States. After the war, he attended Yale University, where he participated in debates and shared his views on conservative politics. He graduated from Yale with honors in 1950. Later, he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for two years.
In 1955, Buckley started National Review, a magazine that helped grow the conservative movement in the United States. In addition to writing editorials for the magazine, Buckley authored God and Man at Yale (1951) and more than 50 other books on topics such as writing, speaking, history, politics, and sailing. His books included a series of novels featuring a fictional CIA officer named Blackford Oakes and a newspaper column that appeared in many papers. In 1965, Buckley ran for mayor of New York City as a member of the Conservative Party, but he finished third. From 1966 to 1999, he hosted 1,429 episodes of the public affairs television show Firing Line, the longest-running public affairs show with a single host in U.S. television history. Through his work on the show, Buckley became known for his unique way of speaking, clear explanations, and use of advanced vocabulary.
Buckley is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the conservative movement in the United States.
Early life
William Frank Buckley Jr. was born William Francis Buckley in New York City on November 24, 1925. His parents were Aloise Josephine Antonia (born Steiner in 1895 and died in 1985) and William Frank Buckley Sr. (born in 1881 and died in 1958), who was a lawyer and oil developer. His mother was born in New Orleans and had ancestors from Germany, Ireland, and Swiss-German backgrounds. His father had Irish ancestors and was born in Texas to parents from Canada who lived in Hamilton, Ontario. Buckley had five older brothers and sisters and four younger brothers and sisters.
As a child, Buckley moved with his family to Mexico before settling in Sharon, Connecticut. He started school in France, where he attended first grade in Paris. By age seven, the family moved to England, where he first learned English at a school in London. Because his family lived in many different places, Buckley’s first two languages were Spanish and French. He enjoyed activities like riding horses, hunting, playing music, sailing, and skiing, which he later wrote about. Buckley was homeschooled through the eighth grade using a program from the Calvert School in Baltimore. Before World War II, when he was about 12 or 13 years old, he attended a Jesuit school called St. John’s Beaumont in Old Windsor, England.
Buckley’s father worked in the oil industry in Mexico and was involved in Mexican politics during the rule of Victoriano Huerta. However, his family was forced to leave Mexico when Álvaro Obregón became president in 1920. Buckley had nine siblings, including his older sister Aloise Buckley Heath, a writer and conservative activist; his sister Maureen Buckley-O’Reilly, who married a business leader; his sister Priscilla Buckley, who wrote a book about her life; his sister Patricia Buckley Bozell, also a writer; his brother Reid Buckley, who founded a school for public speaking; and his brother James L. Buckley, who later became a U.S. senator and a judge.
During World War II, Buckley’s family took in a young boy named Alistair Horne, who later became a famous historian. Buckley and Horne remained friends and both attended Millbrook School in New York, graduating in 1943. Buckley was part of a group called the American Boys’ Club for the Defense of Errol Flynn during a trial in 1943. At Millbrook, Buckley created and edited the school’s yearbook, The Tamarack, which was his first experience with publishing. When he was young, a writer named Albert Jay Nock, known for his book Our Enemy, the State, often visited Buckley’s family home in Sharon, Connecticut. Nock believed that the U.S. Constitution was a change in government from the earlier Articles of Confederation.
As a young man, Buckley showed talent in music. He played the harpsichord very well and called it his favorite instrument, though he said he was not skilled enough to create his own style. He was friends with a harpsichordist named Fernando Valenti, who once offered to sell Buckley his harpsichord. Buckley was also a skilled pianist and performed on a radio show called Piano Jazz. He admired the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and wanted Bach’s music played at his funeral.
Buckley was raised as a Catholic and was part of a religious group called the Knights of Malta. He practiced Catholic traditions, such as praying the Rosary every day.
In 1951, Buckley published his first book, God and Man at Yale, which drew criticism from some people. A Harvard official, McGeorge Bundy, wrote that it was unusual for a Catholic to speak about Yale’s religious traditions. Another person, Henry Sloane Coffin, said Buckley’s book was biased because of his Catholic beliefs and suggested he should have gone to a different school.
In his 1997 book Nearer, My God, Buckley criticized the U.S. Supreme Court for limiting religious practices in public schools and argued that multiculturalism was replacing Christian faith. He also expressed sadness about changes in Catholic worship after the Second Vatican Council, saying the loss of the Latin Mass was hard to accept. Buckley was also interested in the writings of an Italian author named Maria Valtorta.
Education and military service
Buckley studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) until 1943. In 1944, after graduating from the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School (OCS), he was given the rank of second lieutenant in the United States Army. In his book Miles Gone By, he wrote briefly about being part of Franklin Roosevelt’s honor guard when Roosevelt died. During the war, Buckley worked at Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Gordon, Georgia; and Fort Sam Houston, Texas. After the war ended in 1945, Buckley went to Yale University. At Yale, he joined the secret Skull and Bones society and was a skilled debater. He was an active member of the Conservative Party of the Yale Political Union and held the position of chairman of the Yale Daily News. He also worked as an informer for the FBI. At Yale, Buckley studied political science, history, and economics and graduated with honors in 1950. He was a top debater in the Yale Debate Association and developed his sharp and critical style under the guidance of Yale professor Rollin G. Osterweis.
Early career
Buckley worked at Yale as a Spanish instructor from 1947 to 1951.
Buckley served in the CIA for two years, including one year in Mexico City working on political activities for E. Howard Hunt, who was later imprisoned for his role in the Watergate scandal. The two officers remained lifelong friends, and Buckley became the godfather to three of Hunt's children. Buckley said that while he worked for the CIA, Hunt, his direct supervisor, was the only other CIA employee he knew, and that William Sloane Coffin revealed Buckley's CIA employment. While stationed in Mexico, Buckley edited The Road to Yenan, a book by Peruvian author Eudocio Ravines. After leaving the CIA, Buckley worked as an editor at The American Mercury in 1952, but left after noticing newly emerging antisemitic tendencies in the magazine.
Buckley's first book, God and Man at Yale, was published in 1951. Offering criticism of Yale University, Buckley argued in the book that the school had strayed from its original mission. One critic viewed the work as misrepresenting the role of academic freedom. The American academic and commentator McGeorge Bundy, a Yale graduate himself, wrote in The Atlantic: "God and Man at Yale, written by William F. Buckley, Jr., is a savage attack on that institution as a hotbed of 'atheism' and 'collectivism.' I find the book is dishonest in its use of facts, false in its theory, and a discredit to its author."
Buckley credited the attention the book received to its "Introduction" by John Chamberlain, saying that it "changed the course of his life" and that the famous Life magazine editorial writer had acted out of "reckless generosity." Buckley was referred to in Richard Condon's 1959 novel The Manchurian Candidate as "that fascinating younger fellow who had written about men and God at Yale."
In 1954, Buckley and his brother-in-law L. Brent Bozell Jr. co-authored a book, McCarthy and His Enemies. Bozell worked with Buckley at The American Mercury in the early 1950s when it was edited by William Bradford Huie. The book defended Senator Joseph McCarthy as a patriotic crusader against communism, and asserted that "McCarthyism … is a movement around which men of good will and stern morality can close ranks." Buckley and Bozell described McCarthy as responding to a communist "ambition to occupy the world." They conceded that he was often "guilty of exaggeration," but believed the cause he pursued was just.
National Review
William F. Buckley founded National Review in 1955, a time when few magazines focused on conservative ideas. He led the magazine as editor-in-chief until 1990. During this time, National Review became a leading voice for American conservatism, promoting the idea of combining traditional conservative values with libertarian principles. Kim Phillips-Fein, a historian, explains that Buckley worked with intellectuals who had previously been associated with the far left, such as Whittaker Chambers, Willi Schlamm, John Dos Passos, Frank Meyer, and James Burnham. When Burnham became a senior editor, he pushed for a more practical editorial approach to reach a broader audience. Smant (1991) notes that Burnham faced strong opposition from some editors and the magazine’s publisher, William A. Rusher, but eventually influenced the magazine’s direction and Buckley’s thinking.
In 1990, when Buckley turned 65, he stepped down from daily management of National Review. In 2004, he gave control of the magazine to a group of trustees he had chosen. That same month, he published his memoir Miles Gone By. Buckley continued writing his newspaper column and opinion pieces for National Review and its online version. He remained the final decision-maker for the magazine and also gave lectures and interviews.
Buckley and his editors used National Review to define what conservatism meant and to exclude people, ideas, or groups they believed did not fit the conservative label. For example, Buckley criticized Ayn Rand, the John Birch Society, George Wallace, racists, white supremacists, and antisemites.
When Buckley first met Ayn Rand, she reportedly told him, “You are much too intelligent to believe in God.” Buckley believed that Rand’s rejection of religion made her ideas incompatible with his view of conservatism. After 1957, he tried to remove her influence from the conservative movement by publishing a harsh review of her book Atlas Shrugged by Whittaker Chambers. In 1964, Buckley wrote that Rand’s philosophy was “incompatible with the conservative emphasis on transcendence, intellectual and moral.” Other critics, like Garry Wills and M. Stanton Evans, also wrote against Rand. However, historian Jennifer Burns notes that Rand’s popularity forced Buckley and his group to rethink how traditional ideas about virtue and Christianity could be combined with strong support for capitalism.
In 1962, Buckley criticized Robert W. Welch Jr. and the John Birch Society in National Review, calling them “far removed from common sense” and urging the Republican Party to remove Welch’s influence. He added that some members of the John Birch Society were “some of the most morally energetic, self-sacrificing, and dedicated anti-Communists in America.”
In 1952, their shared publisher, Henry Regnery, introduced Buckley to Welch. Both became editors of political journals and shared a talent for communication and organization. Welch started his publication One Man’s Opinion in 1956 (later renamed American Opinion), one year after National Review was founded. Welch donated $1,000 to Buckley’s magazine twice, and Buckley promised to help promote Welch’s work. Both believed the United States had suffered setbacks during the early Cold War and were strongly anti-Communist. However, in 1957, Welch questioned President Eisenhower’s loyalty, leading to disagreements. According to Alvin S. Felzenberg, these disagreements led to a major conflict in 1958. That year, Boris Pasternak won the Nobel Prize for his novel Doctor Zhivago, which Buckley praised for showing the harsh realities of communist life. Buckley published a review of the book by John Chamberlain. In November 1958, Welch sent Buckley and others a copy of his unpublished manuscript The Politician, which accused Eisenhower and his appointees of being involved in a communist conspiracy. Buckley returned the manuscript, calling the claims “curiously—almost pathetically optimistic.” On December 9, 1958, Welch founded the John Birch Society with business leaders in Indianapolis. By the end of 1958, Welch had the resources to launch his political campaigns.
In 1961, Buckley told a subscriber who read both National Review and the John Birch Society’s publication: “I have had more discussions about the John Birch Society in the past year than I have about the existence of God or the financial difficulties of National Review.”
The Buckley rule states that National Review will support the most right-wing candidate who is still viable for a political office. Buckley first mentioned this rule during the 1964 Republican primary between Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller. The rule is often misunderstood as supporting the most electable candidate, but it specifically refers to the most right-wing candidate who has a chance of winning.
According to National Review’s Neal B. Freeman, the rule meant supporting someone who shared the magazine’s views, who would “bring credit to our cause,” and who would help make the Republican Party and the country more conservative. Freeman said this described Barry Goldwater.
Buckley was chairman of Starr Broadcasting Group, a company that owned radio and TV stations across the United States. He owned 20% of the company, with Peter Starr as president and Michael Starr as executive vice president. In 1979, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused Buckley and 10 others of deceiving shareholders in Starr Broadcasting Group. As part of a settlement, Buckley returned $1.4 million in stock and cash to shareholders. The other defendants paid $360,000. In 1981, Buckley reached another agreement with the SEC.
Other political commentary and action
In 1953–1954, before starting Firing Line, Buckley sometimes appeared on the conservative TV show Answers for Americans, which aired on ABC. The show used material from a publication called Facts Forum, supported by H. L. Hunt.
Buckley’s column, On the Right, was shared with newspapers by Universal Press Syndicate starting in 1962. From the 1970s, his column was published in over 320 newspapers twice a week. He wrote 5,600 editions of the column, totaling more than 4.5 million words.
For many Americans, Buckley’s knowledge and speaking style on his PBS show Firing Line (1966–1999) was their first introduction to him. He often used academic vocabulary, which was uncommon on television.
In 1960, Buckley helped create Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), guided by principles he called "The Sharon Statement." He praised his brother Jim Buckley for winning a Senate seat in New York in 1970, which YAF members helped achieve. Buckley served one term in the Senate but lost to Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1976.
In 1962, Edgar Smith, who was sentenced to death for killing a 15-year-old girl in New Jersey, wrote to Buckley from prison. Buckley began to doubt Smith’s guilt and later said the evidence against him was "inherently implausible." An article Buckley wrote about the case in Esquire in 1965 brought national attention to Smith’s claim that another man, Hommell, was the real killer. A retrial in 1971 led to Smith’s release. Buckley later expressed regret after Smith was later convicted of another murder in 1976.
In 1965, Buckley ran for mayor of New York City as the Conservative Party candidate. He aimed to boost conservative influence after a failed campaign by Barry Goldwater. He competed against John Lindsay, a Republican who later became a Democrat. Buckley did not expect to win and joked that if he did, he would "demand a recount." He used an unusual campaign style, once refusing to respond during a televised debate.
During his campaign, Buckley supported policies seen as progressive for a conservative, such as affirmative action and welfare reform focused on job training. He also proposed charging drivers to enter city centers and creating bike lanes to reduce traffic. He opposed a civilian review board for police, which Lindsay had introduced. Buckley finished third in the election.
Buckley once said he would not share a stage with Gore Vidal, a known rival. Their feud became famous during debates at the 1968 national conventions. In one debate, Buckley accused Vidal of supporting Nazi ideas, and Vidal called Buckley a "crypto-Nazi." Buckley later apologized for calling Vidal a "queer" but maintained his criticism of Vidal’s views.
In 1969, Esquire magazine published essays by Buckley and Vidal about their feud. Vidal accused Buckley of vandalizing a church in their hometown after a Jewish family bought a house there. Buckley sued Vidal and Esquire for libel, but both dropped their cases. Esquire later paid Buckley $65,000 to settle a 2003 dispute over republishing Vidal’s essay.
Viewpoints
In 1963 and 1964, Buckley helped gather support for Senator Barry Goldwater’s campaign. He first worked to get Goldwater the Republican nomination against New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and later supported Goldwater’s run for president. Buckley used National Review, a magazine he edited, to encourage others to support Goldwater. In July 1971, Buckley brought together a group of conservatives to discuss policies by President Richard Nixon that they disagreed with. In August 1969, Nixon proposed the Family Assistance Plan (FAP), a law that would give families a yearly income floor of $1,600 for a family of four.
On the international stage, Nixon worked to improve relations with the Soviet Union and China. Buckley, who strongly opposed communism, disagreed with these actions. The group Buckley formed, called the Manhattan Twelve, included people from National Review, such as its publisher William A. Rusher and editors James Burnham and Frank Meyer. Other groups involved were Human Events, the Conservative Book Club, Young Americans for Freedom, and the American Conservative Union. On July 28, 1971, the group published a letter stating they no longer supported Nixon. The letter said, “Because of his record, we have decided to stop supporting the Nixon Administration.” However, in 1973, the Nixon Administration appointed Buckley as a delegate to the United Nations. Buckley later wrote a book about this experience.
In 1976, Buckley supported Ronald Reagan’s campaign for president against current President Gerald Ford. He was disappointed when Reagan lost the election. In 1981, Buckley told President-elect Reagan he would not accept any official position. Reagan joked that he had wanted to make Buckley ambassador to Afghanistan, then controlled by the Soviet Union. Buckley later wrote, “When Reagan offered me the ambassadorship to Afghanistan, I said, ‘Yes, but only if you give me fifteen divisions of bodyguards.’”
In 1988, Buckley organized a group to oppose U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker, a Republican who supported liberal ideas. Buckley supported Weicker’s Democratic opponent, Joseph Lieberman, who was the Connecticut Attorney General.
A key question that arose was whether the white community in the South had the right to take actions to maintain political and cultural influence in areas where they were not the majority. Buckley believed the answer was yes, stating that the white community was “the advanced race.”
In the 1950s and early 1960s, Buckley opposed laws that protected civil rights and supported racial segregation in the South. In her book Freedom Is Not Enough, author Nancy MacLean wrote that National Review made James J. Kilpatrick, a supporter of segregation, its voice on civil rights and the Constitution. Buckley and Kilpatrick worked together to promote a vision of the nation that included upholding white supremacy. In an August 1957 issue of National Review, Buckley wrote an editorial titled “Why the South Must Prevail,” arguing that temporary segregation in the South was necessary because Black people lacked the education, economic, and cultural development to achieve racial equality. Buckley claimed that the white South had the right to enforce its values until cultural equality was achieved. He also said that Black voters should be disenfranchised because “it is the advanced race.” Buckley described many Black people as “ignorant,” stating, “The great majority of the Negroes of the South who do not vote do not care to vote, and would not know for what to vote if they could.” Two weeks later, L. Brent Bozell Jr., a writer and Buckley’s brother-in-law, criticized National Review for supporting segregation, saying it could harm conservative causes.
In the 1960s, Buckley visited South Africa on several trips to study the government’s policy of apartheid, which separated people based on race. On January 15, 1963, the day after Alabama Governor George Wallace made his “Segregation Forever” speech, Buckley published an article in National Review about his trip. He praised apartheid, calling it “a sincere people’s effort to fashion the land of peace they want so badly.” Buckley described apartheid as based on four principles, the last being that Black people could not hold power equally with white people. After writing this article, Buckley said he was “bursting with pride” over praise from a German critic, Wilhelm Röpke.
During President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, Buckley’s writing became more supportive of the civil rights movement. He criticized efforts to keep African Americans from voting, condemned businesses that refused service to Black people, and opposed Southern politicians who encouraged racial violence. A key moment for Buckley was the 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four Black girls. A biographer said Buckley was deeply upset by this event.
Buckley disagreed with the idea of structural racism and blamed the lack of economic growth on the Black community. He made this clear during a 1965 debate with writer James Baldwin, where Baldwin won the vote 544 to 164. In a 1966 episode of Firing Line, guest Floyd Bixler McKissick explained that “black power” meant Black people should decide their own progress. He listed six steps to achieve equality, including gaining political and economic power, improving self-image, and ending police brutality.
Language and idiolect
William Buckley was well known for his strong use of language. He started learning English formally at age seven, after first learning Spanish and French. According to Michelle Tsai in Slate, Buckley spoke English with a unique accent that mixed an old-fashioned Northeastern elite accent and British Received Pronunciation, with some Southern drawl. Sociologist Patricia Leavy described his accent as resembling one taught to actors in Hollywood studios during the 1930s and 1940s, but softened by a Southern drawl that reduced the overly confident tone often associated with his Yale education.
Gerald L. Houseman, a professor of political science, noted that Buckley’s love for language did not always lead to high-quality writing. He criticized Buckley for using unsuitable metaphors and awkward sentence structures, as well as for inserting comments about the character or morals of people he quoted.
On Firing Line, Buckley was known for being respectful to his guests. However, he sometimes gently teased friends during interviews. During intense debates, such as with Gore Vidal, he became less polite.
Epstein wrote that liberals were especially interested in debating Buckley because his ideas often responded to left-liberal views rather than being based on conservative principles that were unfamiliar to liberals.
Appel, using rhetorical theory, argued that Buckley’s essays often used a humorous, exaggerated style similar to the satirical poem Hudibras by Samuel Butler. This style includes clear contrasts between good and bad, a character who uses guilt to argue, exaggerated opponents, limited blame-shifting, and a focus on personal redemption.
Lee claimed Buckley introduced a new way of speaking that many conservatives tried to copy. He called this style the "gladiatorial style," which is showy, argumentative, and filled with short, memorable phrases. As conservatives encountered Buckley’s views on government, liberalism, and markets, his dramatic speaking style inspired others to adopt a similar approach, becoming a major model for conservative speech.
In Current Affairs, Nathan J. Robinson wrote that Buckley created a lasting model for conservative thinkers. He encouraged others to be witty, confident, and skilled debaters, using references to classical works and a calm, self-assured attitude. This approach shifted attention away from the actual validity of arguments, making them less central to discussions.
Spy novelist
In 1975, Buckley shared that he was inspired to write a spy novel after reading Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal. He said, “If I were to write a book of fiction, I’d like to try to write something similar.” Buckley aimed to avoid the unclear moral choices often found in works by Graham Greene and John le Carré. In 1976, he wrote the spy novel Saving the Queen, which features Blackford Oakes, a strict CIA agent based partly on Buckley’s own experiences with the CIA. Over the next 30 years, Buckley wrote ten more novels featuring Oakes. A New York Times critic named Charlie Rubin said the series “at its best, captures the precise sense of place and class differences seen in the writing of John O’Hara.” The second book in the series, Stained Glass, won a 1980 National Book Award in the “Mystery (paperback)” category.
Buckley was concerned about the idea that the CIA and the KGB were equally immoral. In his memoirs, he wrote, “Saying the CIA and the KGB do similar things is like saying a man who pushes an old lady into the path of a moving bus is the same as a man who pushes her out of the path. After all, in both cases, someone is pushing an old lady around.”
Buckley started writing on computers in 1982, beginning with a Zenith Z-89. His son said Buckley became very loyal to a program called WordStar, even installing it on every new computer he owned, even as newer software became available. Buckley used WordStar to write his final novel. When asked why he kept using an outdated program, he replied, “People say there is better software, but they also say there are better alphabets.”
Later career
When Buckley turned 65 in 1990, he stopped managing the daily operations of the National Review. The following month, he wrote a book titled Miles Gone By. He continued writing his newspaper column and opinion articles for the National Review and National Review Online.
In 1991, Buckley was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Buckley expressed concerns about some policies in the modern conservative movement. Regarding George W. Bush’s presidency, he stated, “If a European prime minister had faced the same challenges, it would be expected that they would retire or resign.”
According to Jeffrey Hart, who wrote in The American Conservative, Buckley viewed the Iraq War as a tragedy. He believed the conservative movement he helped create had made a serious mistake by not staying critical of the Bush administration. He later thought the movement had damaged itself by supporting the war in Iraq. However, the editors of National Review noted that Buckley initially disagreed with the 2007 troop surge in Iraq but later supported it after seeing early signs of success.
In a December 3, 2007, column, shortly after his wife’s death, which he said was partly caused by her smoking, Buckley suggested banning tobacco use in the United States. He also wrote articles for Playboy, even though he disagreed with the magazine’s ideas. In 2004, Buckley commented on neoconservatives, saying, “Most of them are smart, informed, and idealistic, but they overestimate how much influence the United States actually has.”
Personal life
In 1950, Buckley married Patricia Buckley, who was born Patricia Taylor. She was the daughter of Austin C. Taylor, a Canadian business leader. Buckley met Patricia when she was a student at Vassar College. Patricia was from Vancouver, British Columbia, and was a Protestant. Later in life, she became an important supporter for several charitable organizations, including the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at New York University Medical Center, and the Hospital for Special Surgery. She also helped raise money for Vietnam War veterans. On April 15, 2007, Patricia passed away at the age of 80 due to an infection after a long illness. After her death, Buckley appeared "dejected and rudderless," according to his friend Christopher Little.
William and Patricia Buckley had one son, Christopher Buckley, who is an author. They lived in Wallack's Point in Stamford, Connecticut, and also in a duplex apartment at 73 East 73rd Street, which had a private entrance to 778 Park Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.
Starting in 1970, Buckley and his wife spent six to seven weeks each year living and working in Rougemont, Switzerland.
Death
William Buckley had emphysema and diabetes in his later years. In a December 2007 article, he explained that his emphysema was caused by his long habit of smoking tobacco, even though he supported a legal ban on it. On February 27, 2008, he died from a heart attack at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, at the age of 82. At first, it was reported that he was found dead at his desk in his study, a room that had once been a garage. His son, Christopher Buckley, said, "He died with his boots on after a lifetime of riding pretty tall in the saddle." However, in his 2009 book Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir, he admitted that this story was slightly exaggerated. While his father did die in his study, he was found lying on the floor. Buckley was buried at Saint Bernard Cemetery in Sharon, Connecticut, next to his wife, Patricia.
Important members of the Republican political establishment honored Buckley, including President George W. Bush, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and former First Lady Nancy Reagan. Bush said, "He influenced a lot of people, including me. He captured the imagination of many." Gingrich added, "Bill Buckley became the key intellectual leader from whose energy, intelligence, wit, and enthusiasm modern conservatism drew its inspiration and encouragement. He helped lead to Senator Barry Goldwater and his book The Conscience of a Conservative, which helped conservatives gain power within the Republican Party. This eventually led to Ronald Reagan." Nancy Reagan said, "Ronnie valued Bill's advice throughout his political life, and after Ronnie died, Bill and Pat were there for me in many ways." House Minority Whip Roy Blunt stated, "William F. Buckley was more than a journalist or commentator. He was the clear leader of the conservative movement that created the foundation for the Reagan Revolution. Every Republican owes him thanks for his hard work on behalf of our party and nation."
Legacy
George H. Nash, a historian who studies the modern American conservative movement, said in 2008 that Buckley was "arguably the most important public intellectual in the United States in the past half century." He added that Buckley was "the leading voice of American conservatism and its first great figure who united different groups." In contrast, political consultant Stuart Stevens, who worked on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign and later helped lead The Lincoln Project, wrote that Buckley "was often a more articulate version of the same deep ugliness and bigotry that is the hallmark of Trumpism."
In the New York Times, Douglas Martin wrote: "Mr. Buckley’s greatest achievement was making conservatism not just electoral Republicanism but a system of ideas that was respected by liberals in post-World War II America. He inspired young supporters who helped nominate Barry Goldwater in 1964 and saw his ideas realized when Reagan and the Bushes became president."
Conservative writer George Will stated: "Without Bill Buckley, there would be no National Review. Without National Review, there would be no Goldwater nomination. Without the Goldwater nomination, there would be no conservative takeover of the Republican Party. Without that, no Reagan. Without Reagan, no victory in the Cold War. Therefore, Bill Buckley won the Cold War." James Carden noted that Will’s reasoning "suffers from the post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy," which assumes that one event caused another without proof.
Buckley was the subject of Alvin S. Felzenberg’s highly praised biography A Man and His Presidents: The Political Odyssey of William F. Buckley, Jr. Other books about Buckley include John Judis’s William F. Buckley, Jr.: Patron Saint of the Conservatives.
Buckley’s official biography, Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, written by Sam Tanenhaus, was released in 2025. Tanenhaus began working on the book in 1998.
Several organizations have awards and honors named after Buckley. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute gives the William F. Buckley Award for Outstanding Campus Journalism.
- In the 1991 film Hook, Dustin Hoffman modeled his speaking style as Captain Hook after Buckley.
- In the 1992 film Aladdin, the Genie (voiced by Robin Williams) imitated Buckley.
- The 2016 film X-Men: Apocalypse briefly shows footage of Buckley on a TV news clip.
- Buckley appears in James Graham’s 2021 play Best of Enemies, which is a fictionalized retelling of the 1968 Buckley–Vidal debates.
- In the 2023 Max miniseries White House Plumbers, Buckley is portrayed by Peter Serafinowicz as a friend of E. Howard Hunt’s family.
- In 2025, the U.S. Postal Service released a stamp honoring Buckley.
Date
William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, public thinker, political commentator, and novelist.
He was born in New York City and first learned to speak Spanish before studying French and English as a child. During World War II, he served in the United States Army in the United States. After the war, he attended Yale University, where he participated in debates and shared his views on conservative politics. He graduated from Yale with honors in 1950. Later, he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for two years.
In 1955, Buckley started National Review, a magazine that helped grow the conservative movement in the United States. In addition to writing editorials for the magazine, Buckley authored God and Man at Yale (1951) and more than 50 other books on topics such as writing, speaking, history, politics, and sailing. His books included a series of novels featuring a fictional CIA officer named Blackford Oakes and a newspaper column that appeared in many papers. In 1965, Buckley ran for mayor of New York City as a member of the Conservative Party, but he finished third. From 1966 to 1999, he hosted 1,429 episodes of the public affairs television show Firing Line, the longest-running public affairs show with a single host in U.S. television history. Through his work on the show, Buckley became known for his unique way of speaking, clear explanations, and use of advanced vocabulary.
Buckley is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the conservative movement in the United States.
Early life
William Frank Buckley Jr. was born William Francis Buckley in New York City on November 24, 1925. His parents were Aloise Josephine Antonia (born Steiner in 1895 and died in 1985) and William Frank Buckley Sr. (born in 1881 and died in 1958), who was a lawyer and oil developer. His mother was born in New Orleans and had ancestors from Germany, Ireland, and Swiss-German backgrounds. His father had Irish ancestors and was born in Texas to parents from Canada who lived in Hamilton, Ontario. Buckley had five older brothers and sisters and four younger brothers and sisters.
As a child, Buckley moved with his family to Mexico before settling in Sharon, Connecticut. He started school in France, where he attended first grade in Paris. By age seven, the family moved to England, where he first learned English at a school in London. Because his family lived in many different places, Buckley’s first two languages were Spanish and French. He enjoyed activities like riding horses, hunting, playing music, sailing, and skiing, which he later wrote about. Buckley was homeschooled through the eighth grade using a program from the Calvert School in Baltimore. Before World War II, when he was about 12 or 13 years old, he attended a Jesuit school called St. John’s Beaumont in Old Windsor, England.
Buckley’s father worked in the oil industry in Mexico and was involved in Mexican politics during the rule of Victoriano Huerta. However, his family was forced to leave Mexico when Álvaro Obregón became president in 1920. Buckley had nine siblings, including his older sister Aloise Buckley Heath, a writer and conservative activist; his sister Maureen Buckley-O’Reilly, who married a business leader; his sister Priscilla Buckley, who wrote a book about her life; his sister Patricia Buckley Bozell, also a writer; his brother Reid Buckley, who founded a school for public speaking; and his brother James L. Buckley, who later became a U.S. senator and a judge.
During World War II, Buckley’s family took in a young boy named Alistair Horne, who later became a famous historian. Buckley and Horne remained friends and both attended Millbrook School in New York, graduating in 1943. Buckley was part of a group called the American Boys’ Club for the Defense of Errol Flynn during a trial in 1943. At Millbrook, Buckley created and edited the school’s yearbook, The Tamarack, which was his first experience with publishing. When he was young, a writer named Albert Jay Nock, known for his book Our Enemy, the State, often visited Buckley’s family home in Sharon, Connecticut. Nock believed that the U.S. Constitution was a change in government from the earlier Articles of Confederation.
As a young man, Buckley showed talent in music. He played the harpsichord very well and called it his favorite instrument, though he said he was not skilled enough to create his own style. He was friends with a harpsichordist named Fernando Valenti, who once offered to sell Buckley his harpsichord. Buckley was also a skilled pianist and performed on a radio show called Piano Jazz. He admired the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and wanted Bach’s music played at his funeral.
Buckley was raised as a Catholic and was part of a religious group called the Knights of Malta. He practiced Catholic traditions, such as praying the Rosary every day.
In 1951, Buckley published his first book, God and Man at Yale, which drew criticism from some people. A Harvard official, McGeorge Bundy, wrote that it was unusual for a Catholic to speak about Yale’s religious traditions. Another person, Henry Sloane Coffin, said Buckley’s book was biased because of his Catholic beliefs and suggested he should have gone to a different school.
In his 1997 book Nearer, My God, Buckley criticized the U.S. Supreme Court for limiting religious practices in public schools and argued that multiculturalism was replacing Christian faith. He also expressed sadness about changes in Catholic worship after the Second Vatican Council, saying the loss of the Latin Mass was hard to accept. Buckley was also interested in the writings of an Italian author named Maria Valtorta.
Education and military service
Buckley studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) until 1943. In 1944, after graduating from the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School (OCS), he was given the rank of second lieutenant in the United States Army. In his book Miles Gone By, he wrote briefly about being part of Franklin Roosevelt’s honor guard when Roosevelt died. During the war, Buckley worked at Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Gordon, Georgia; and Fort Sam Houston, Texas. After the war ended in 1945, Buckley went to Yale University. At Yale, he joined the secret Skull and Bones society and was a skilled debater. He was an active member of the Conservative Party of the Yale Political Union and held the position of chairman of the Yale Daily News. He also worked as an informer for the FBI. At Yale, Buckley studied political science, history, and economics and graduated with honors in 1950. He was a top debater in the Yale Debate Association and developed his sharp and critical style under the guidance of Yale professor Rollin G. Osterweis.
Early career
Buckley worked at Yale as a Spanish instructor from 1947 to 1951.
Buckley served in the CIA for two years, including one year in Mexico City working on political activities for E. Howard Hunt, who was later imprisoned for his role in the Watergate scandal. The two officers remained lifelong friends, and Buckley became the godfather to three of Hunt's children. Buckley said that while he worked for the CIA, Hunt, his direct supervisor, was the only other CIA employee he knew, and that William Sloane Coffin revealed Buckley's CIA employment. While stationed in Mexico, Buckley edited The Road to Yenan, a book by Peruvian author Eudocio Ravines. After leaving the CIA, Buckley worked as an editor at The American Mercury in 1952, but left after noticing newly emerging antisemitic tendencies in the magazine.
Buckley's first book, God and Man at Yale, was published in 1951. Offering criticism of Yale University, Buckley argued in the book that the school had strayed from its original mission. One critic viewed the work as misrepresenting the role of academic freedom. The American academic and commentator McGeorge Bundy, a Yale graduate himself, wrote in The Atlantic: "God and Man at Yale, written by William F. Buckley, Jr., is a savage attack on that institution as a hotbed of 'atheism' and 'collectivism.' I find the book is dishonest in its use of facts, false in its theory, and a discredit to its author."
Buckley credited the attention the book received to its "Introduction" by John Chamberlain, saying that it "changed the course of his life" and that the famous Life magazine editorial writer had acted out of "reckless generosity." Buckley was referred to in Richard Condon's 1959 novel The Manchurian Candidate as "that fascinating younger fellow who had written about men and God at Yale."
In 1954, Buckley and his brother-in-law L. Brent Bozell Jr. co-authored a book, McCarthy and His Enemies. Bozell worked with Buckley at The American Mercury in the early 1950s when it was edited by William Bradford Huie. The book defended Senator Joseph McCarthy as a patriotic crusader against communism, and asserted that "McCarthyism … is a movement around which men of good will and stern morality can close ranks." Buckley and Bozell described McCarthy as responding to a communist "ambition to occupy the world." They conceded that he was often "guilty of exaggeration," but believed the cause he pursued was just.
National Review
William F. Buckley founded National Review in 1955, a time when few magazines focused on conservative ideas. He led the magazine as editor-in-chief until 1990. During this time, National Review became a leading voice for American conservatism, promoting the idea of combining traditional conservative values with libertarian principles. Kim Phillips-Fein, a historian, explains that Buckley worked with intellectuals who had previously been associated with the far left, such as Whittaker Chambers, Willi Schlamm, John Dos Passos, Frank Meyer, and James Burnham. When Burnham became a senior editor, he pushed for a more practical editorial approach to reach a broader audience. Smant (1991) notes that Burnham faced strong opposition from some editors and the magazine’s publisher, William A. Rusher, but eventually influenced the magazine’s direction and Buckley’s thinking.
In 1990, when Buckley turned 65, he stepped down from daily management of National Review. In 2004, he gave control of the magazine to a group of trustees he had chosen. That same month, he published his memoir Miles Gone By. Buckley continued writing his newspaper column and opinion pieces for National Review and its online version. He remained the final decision-maker for the magazine and also gave lectures and interviews.
Buckley and his editors used National Review to define what conservatism meant and to exclude people, ideas, or groups they believed did not fit the conservative label. For example, Buckley criticized Ayn Rand, the John Birch Society, George Wallace, racists, white supremacists, and antisemites.
When Buckley first met Ayn Rand, she reportedly told him, “You are much too intelligent to believe in God.” Buckley believed that Rand’s rejection of religion made her ideas incompatible with his view of conservatism. After 1957, he tried to remove her influence from the conservative movement by publishing a harsh review of her book Atlas Shrugged by Whittaker Chambers. In 1964, Buckley wrote that Rand’s philosophy was “incompatible with the conservative emphasis on transcendence, intellectual and moral.” Other critics, like Garry Wills and M. Stanton Evans, also wrote against Rand. However, historian Jennifer Burns notes that Rand’s popularity forced Buckley and his group to rethink how traditional ideas about virtue and Christianity could be combined with strong support for capitalism.
In 1962, Buckley criticized Robert W. Welch Jr. and the John Birch Society in National Review, calling them “far removed from common sense” and urging the Republican Party to remove Welch’s influence. He added that some members of the John Birch Society were “some of the most morally energetic, self-sacrificing, and dedicated anti-Communists in America.”
In 1952, their shared publisher, Henry Regnery, introduced Buckley to Welch. Both became editors of political journals and shared a talent for communication and organization. Welch started his publication One Man’s Opinion in 1956 (later renamed American Opinion), one year after National Review was founded. Welch donated $1,000 to Buckley’s magazine twice, and Buckley promised to help promote Welch’s work. Both believed the United States had suffered setbacks during the early Cold War and were strongly anti-Communist. However, in 1957, Welch questioned President Eisenhower’s loyalty, leading to disagreements. According to Alvin S. Felzenberg, these disagreements led to a major conflict in 1958. That year, Boris Pasternak won the Nobel Prize for his novel Doctor Zhivago, which Buckley praised for showing the harsh realities of communist life. Buckley published a review of the book by John Chamberlain. In November 1958, Welch sent Buckley and others a copy of his unpublished manuscript The Politician, which accused Eisenhower and his appointees of being involved in a communist conspiracy. Buckley returned the manuscript, calling the claims “curiously—almost pathetically optimistic.” On December 9, 1958, Welch founded the John Birch Society with business leaders in Indianapolis. By the end of 1958, Welch had the resources to launch his political campaigns.
In 1961, Buckley told a subscriber who read both National Review and the John Birch Society’s publication: “I have had more discussions about the John Birch Society in the past year than I have about the existence of God or the financial difficulties of National Review.”
The Buckley rule states that National Review will support the most right-wing candidate who is still viable for a political office. Buckley first mentioned this rule during the 1964 Republican primary between Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller. The rule is often misunderstood as supporting the most electable candidate, but it specifically refers to the most right-wing candidate who has a chance of winning.
According to National Review’s Neal B. Freeman, the rule meant supporting someone who shared the magazine’s views, who would “bring credit to our cause,” and who would help make the Republican Party and the country more conservative. Freeman said this described Barry Goldwater.
Buckley was chairman of Starr Broadcasting Group, a company that owned radio and TV stations across the United States. He owned 20% of the company, with Peter Starr as president and Michael Starr as executive vice president. In 1979, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused Buckley and 10 others of deceiving shareholders in Starr Broadcasting Group. As part of a settlement, Buckley returned $1.4 million in stock and cash to shareholders. The other defendants paid $360,000. In 1981, Buckley reached another agreement with the SEC.
Other political commentary and action
In 1953–1954, before starting Firing Line, Buckley sometimes appeared on the conservative TV show Answers for Americans, which aired on ABC. The show used material from a publication called Facts Forum, supported by H. L. Hunt.
Buckley’s column, On the Right, was shared with newspapers by Universal Press Syndicate starting in 1962. From the 1970s, his column was published in over 320 newspapers twice a week. He wrote 5,600 editions of the column, totaling more than 4.5 million words.
For many Americans, Buckley’s knowledge and speaking style on his PBS show Firing Line (1966–1999) was their first introduction to him. He often used academic vocabulary, which was uncommon on television.
In 1960, Buckley helped create Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), guided by principles he called "The Sharon Statement." He praised his brother Jim Buckley for winning a Senate seat in New York in 1970, which YAF members helped achieve. Buckley served one term in the Senate but lost to Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1976.
In 1962, Edgar Smith, who was sentenced to death for killing a 15-year-old girl in New Jersey, wrote to Buckley from prison. Buckley began to doubt Smith’s guilt and later said the evidence against him was "inherently implausible." An article Buckley wrote about the case in Esquire in 1965 brought national attention to Smith’s claim that another man, Hommell, was the real killer. A retrial in 1971 led to Smith’s release. Buckley later expressed regret after Smith was later convicted of another murder in 1976.
In 1965, Buckley ran for mayor of New York City as the Conservative Party candidate. He aimed to boost conservative influence after a failed campaign by Barry Goldwater. He competed against John Lindsay, a Republican who later became a Democrat. Buckley did not expect to win and joked that if he did, he would "demand a recount." He used an unusual campaign style, once refusing to respond during a televised debate.
During his campaign, Buckley supported policies seen as progressive for a conservative, such as affirmative action and welfare reform focused on job training. He also proposed charging drivers to enter city centers and creating bike lanes to reduce traffic. He opposed a civilian review board for police, which Lindsay had introduced. Buckley finished third in the election.
Buckley once said he would not share a stage with Gore Vidal, a known rival. Their feud became famous during debates at the 1968 national conventions. In one debate, Buckley accused Vidal of supporting Nazi ideas, and Vidal called Buckley a "crypto-Nazi." Buckley later apologized for calling Vidal a "queer" but maintained his criticism of Vidal’s views.
In 1969, Esquire magazine published essays by Buckley and Vidal about their feud. Vidal accused Buckley of vandalizing a church in their hometown after a Jewish family bought a house there. Buckley sued Vidal and Esquire for libel, but both dropped their cases. Esquire later paid Buckley $65,000 to settle a 2003 dispute over republishing Vidal’s essay.
Viewpoints
In 1963 and 1964, Buckley helped gather support for Senator Barry Goldwater’s campaign. He first worked to get Goldwater the Republican nomination against New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and later supported Goldwater’s run for president. Buckley used National Review, a magazine he edited, to encourage others to support Goldwater. In July 1971, Buckley brought together a group of conservatives to discuss policies by President Richard Nixon that they disagreed with. In August 1969, Nixon proposed the Family Assistance Plan (FAP), a law that would give families a yearly income floor of $1,600 for a family of four.
On the international stage, Nixon worked to improve relations with the Soviet Union and China. Buckley, who strongly opposed communism, disagreed with these actions. The group Buckley formed, called the Manhattan Twelve, included people from National Review, such as its publisher William A. Rusher and editors James Burnham and Frank Meyer. Other groups involved were Human Events, the Conservative Book Club, Young Americans for Freedom, and the American Conservative Union. On July 28, 1971, the group published a letter stating they no longer supported Nixon. The letter said, “Because of his record, we have decided to stop supporting the Nixon Administration.” However, in 1973, the Nixon Administration appointed Buckley as a delegate to the United Nations. Buckley later wrote a book about this experience.
In 1976, Buckley supported Ronald Reagan’s campaign for president against current President Gerald Ford. He was disappointed when Reagan lost the election. In 1981, Buckley told President-elect Reagan he would not accept any official position. Reagan joked that he had wanted to make Buckley ambassador to Afghanistan, then controlled by the Soviet Union. Buckley later wrote, “When Reagan offered me the ambassadorship to Afghanistan, I said, ‘Yes, but only if you give me fifteen divisions of bodyguards.’”
In 1988, Buckley organized a group to oppose U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker, a Republican who supported liberal ideas. Buckley supported Weicker’s Democratic opponent, Joseph Lieberman, who was the Connecticut Attorney General.
A key question that arose was whether the white community in the South had the right to take actions to maintain political and cultural influence in areas where they were not the majority. Buckley believed the answer was yes, stating that the white community was “the advanced race.”
In the 1950s and early 1960s, Buckley opposed laws that protected civil rights and supported racial segregation in the South. In her book Freedom Is Not Enough, author Nancy MacLean wrote that National Review made James J. Kilpatrick, a supporter of segregation, its voice on civil rights and the Constitution. Buckley and Kilpatrick worked together to promote a vision of the nation that included upholding white supremacy. In an August 1957 issue of National Review, Buckley wrote an editorial titled “Why the South Must Prevail,” arguing that temporary segregation in the South was necessary because Black people lacked the education, economic, and cultural development to achieve racial equality. Buckley claimed that the white South had the right to enforce its values until cultural equality was achieved. He also said that Black voters should be disenfranchised because “it is the advanced race.” Buckley described many Black people as “ignorant,” stating, “The great majority of the Negroes of the South who do not vote do not care to vote, and would not know for what to vote if they could.” Two weeks later, L. Brent Bozell Jr., a writer and Buckley’s brother-in-law, criticized National Review for supporting segregation, saying it could harm conservative causes.
In the 1960s, Buckley visited South Africa on several trips to study the government’s policy of apartheid, which separated people based on race. On January 15, 1963, the day after Alabama Governor George Wallace made his “Segregation Forever” speech, Buckley published an article in National Review about his trip. He praised apartheid, calling it “a sincere people’s effort to fashion the land of peace they want so badly.” Buckley described apartheid as based on four principles, the last being that Black people could not hold power equally with white people. After writing this article, Buckley said he was “bursting with pride” over praise from a German critic, Wilhelm Röpke.
During President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, Buckley’s writing became more supportive of the civil rights movement. He criticized efforts to keep African Americans from voting, condemned businesses that refused service to Black people, and opposed Southern politicians who encouraged racial violence. A key moment for Buckley was the 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four Black girls. A biographer said Buckley was deeply upset by this event.
Buckley disagreed with the idea of structural racism and blamed the lack of economic growth on the Black community. He made this clear during a 1965 debate with writer James Baldwin, where Baldwin won the vote 544 to 164. In a 1966 episode of Firing Line, guest Floyd Bixler McKissick explained that “black power” meant Black people should decide their own progress. He listed six steps to achieve equality, including gaining political and economic power, improving self-image, and ending police brutality.
Language and idiolect
William Buckley was well known for his strong use of language. He started learning English formally at age seven, after first learning Spanish and French. According to Michelle Tsai in Slate, Buckley spoke English with a unique accent that mixed an old-fashioned Northeastern elite accent and British Received Pronunciation, with some Southern drawl. Sociologist Patricia Leavy described his accent as resembling one taught to actors in Hollywood studios during the 1930s and 1940s, but softened by a Southern drawl that reduced the overly confident tone often associated with his Yale education.
Gerald L. Houseman, a professor of political science, noted that Buckley’s love for language did not always lead to high-quality writing. He criticized Buckley for using unsuitable metaphors and awkward sentence structures, as well as for inserting comments about the character or morals of people he quoted.
On Firing Line, Buckley was known for being respectful to his guests. However, he sometimes gently teased friends during interviews. During intense debates, such as with Gore Vidal, he became less polite.
Epstein wrote that liberals were especially interested in debating Buckley because his ideas often responded to left-liberal views rather than being based on conservative principles that were unfamiliar to liberals.
Appel, using rhetorical theory, argued that Buckley’s essays often used a humorous, exaggerated style similar to the satirical poem Hudibras by Samuel Butler. This style includes clear contrasts between good and bad, a character who uses guilt to argue, exaggerated opponents, limited blame-shifting, and a focus on personal redemption.
Lee claimed Buckley introduced a new way of speaking that many conservatives tried to copy. He called this style the "gladiatorial style," which is showy, argumentative, and filled with short, memorable phrases. As conservatives encountered Buckley’s views on government, liberalism, and markets, his dramatic speaking style inspired others to adopt a similar approach, becoming a major model for conservative speech.
In Current Affairs, Nathan J. Robinson wrote that Buckley created a lasting model for conservative thinkers. He encouraged others to be witty, confident, and skilled debaters, using references to classical works and a calm, self-assured attitude. This approach shifted attention away from the actual validity of arguments, making them less central to discussions.
Spy novelist
In 1975, Buckley shared that he was inspired to write a spy novel after reading Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal. He said, “If I were to write a book of fiction, I’d like to try to write something similar.” Buckley aimed to avoid the unclear moral choices often found in works by Graham Greene and John le Carré. In 1976, he wrote the spy novel Saving the Queen, which features Blackford Oakes, a strict CIA agent based partly on Buckley’s own experiences with the CIA. Over the next 30 years, Buckley wrote ten more novels featuring Oakes. A New York Times critic named Charlie Rubin said the series “at its best, captures the precise sense of place and class differences seen in the writing of John O’Hara.” The second book in the series, Stained Glass, won a 1980 National Book Award in the “Mystery (paperback)” category.
Buckley was concerned about the idea that the CIA and the KGB were equally immoral. In his memoirs, he wrote, “Saying the CIA and the KGB do similar things is like saying a man who pushes an old lady into the path of a moving bus is the same as a man who pushes her out of the path. After all, in both cases, someone is pushing an old lady around.”
Buckley started writing on computers in 1982, beginning with a Zenith Z-89. His son said Buckley became very loyal to a program called WordStar, even installing it on every new computer he owned, even as newer software became available. Buckley used WordStar to write his final novel. When asked why he kept using an outdated program, he replied, “People say there is better software, but they also say there are better alphabets.”
Later career
When Buckley turned 65 in 1990, he stopped managing the daily operations of the National Review. The following month, he wrote a book titled Miles Gone By. He continued writing his newspaper column and opinion articles for the National Review and National Review Online.
In 1991, Buckley was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Buckley expressed concerns about some policies in the modern conservative movement. Regarding George W. Bush’s presidency, he stated, “If a European prime minister had faced the same challenges, it would be expected that they would retire or resign.”
According to Jeffrey Hart, who wrote in The American Conservative, Buckley viewed the Iraq War as a tragedy. He believed the conservative movement he helped create had made a serious mistake by not staying critical of the Bush administration. He later thought the movement had damaged itself by supporting the war in Iraq. However, the editors of National Review noted that Buckley initially disagreed with the 2007 troop surge in Iraq but later supported it after seeing early signs of success.
In a December 3, 2007, column, shortly after his wife’s death, which he said was partly caused by her smoking, Buckley suggested banning tobacco use in the United States. He also wrote articles for Playboy, even though he disagreed with the magazine’s ideas. In 2004, Buckley commented on neoconservatives, saying, “Most of them are smart, informed, and idealistic, but they overestimate how much influence the United States actually has.”
Personal life
In 1950, Buckley married Patricia Buckley, who was born Patricia Taylor. She was the daughter of Austin C. Taylor, a Canadian business leader. Buckley met Patricia when she was a student at Vassar College. Patricia was from Vancouver, British Columbia, and was a Protestant. Later in life, she became an important supporter for several charitable organizations, including the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at New York University Medical Center, and the Hospital for Special Surgery. She also helped raise money for Vietnam War veterans. On April 15, 2007, Patricia passed away at the age of 80 due to an infection after a long illness. After her death, Buckley appeared "dejected and rudderless," according to his friend Christopher Little.
William and Patricia Buckley had one son, Christopher Buckley, who is an author. They lived in Wallack's Point in Stamford, Connecticut, and also in a duplex apartment at 73 East 73rd Street, which had a private entrance to 778 Park Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.
Starting in 1970, Buckley and his wife spent six to seven weeks each year living and working in Rougemont, Switzerland.
Death
William Buckley had emphysema and diabetes in his later years. In a December 2007 article, he explained that his emphysema was caused by his long habit of smoking tobacco, even though he supported a legal ban on it. On February 27, 2008, he died from a heart attack at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, at the age of 82. At first, it was reported that he was found dead at his desk in his study, a room that had once been a garage. His son, Christopher Buckley, said, "He died with his boots on after a lifetime of riding pretty tall in the saddle." However, in his 2009 book Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir, he admitted that this story was slightly exaggerated. While his father did die in his study, he was found lying on the floor. Buckley was buried at Saint Bernard Cemetery in Sharon, Connecticut, next to his wife, Patricia.
Important members of the Republican political establishment honored Buckley, including President George W. Bush, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and former First Lady Nancy Reagan. Bush said, "He influenced a lot of people, including me. He captured the imagination of many." Gingrich added, "Bill Buckley became the key intellectual leader from whose energy, intelligence, wit, and enthusiasm modern conservatism drew its inspiration and encouragement. He helped lead to Senator Barry Goldwater and his book The Conscience of a Conservative, which helped conservatives gain power within the Republican Party. This eventually led to Ronald Reagan." Nancy Reagan said, "Ronnie valued Bill's advice throughout his political life, and after Ronnie died, Bill and Pat were there for me in many ways." House Minority Whip Roy Blunt stated, "William F. Buckley was more than a journalist or commentator. He was the clear leader of the conservative movement that created the foundation for the Reagan Revolution. Every Republican owes him thanks for his hard work on behalf of our party and nation."
Legacy
George H. Nash, a historian who studies the modern American conservative movement, said in 2008 that Buckley was "arguably the most important public intellectual in the United States in the past half century." He added that Buckley was "the leading voice of American conservatism and its first great figure who united different groups." In contrast, political consultant Stuart Stevens, who worked on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign and later helped lead The Lincoln Project, wrote that Buckley "was often a more articulate version of the same deep ugliness and bigotry that is the hallmark of Trumpism."
In the New York Times, Douglas Martin wrote: "Mr. Buckley’s greatest achievement was making conservatism not just electoral Republicanism but a system of ideas that was respected by liberals in post-World War II America. He inspired young supporters who helped nominate Barry Goldwater in 1964 and saw his ideas realized when Reagan and the Bushes became president."
Conservative writer George Will stated: "Without Bill Buckley, there would be no National Review. Without National Review, there would be no Goldwater nomination. Without the Goldwater nomination, there would be no conservative takeover of the Republican Party. Without that, no Reagan. Without Reagan, no victory in the Cold War. Therefore, Bill Buckley won the Cold War." James Carden noted that Will’s reasoning "suffers from the post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy," which assumes that one event caused another without proof.
Buckley was the subject of Alvin S. Felzenberg’s highly praised biography A Man and His Presidents: The Political Odyssey of William F. Buckley, Jr. Other books about Buckley include John Judis’s William F. Buckley, Jr.: Patron Saint of the Conservatives.
Buckley’s official biography, Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, written by Sam Tanenhaus, was released in 2025. Tanenhaus began working on the book in 1998.
Several organizations have awards and honors named after Buckley. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute gives the William F. Buckley Award for Outstanding Campus Journalism.
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