About William Safire
William Lewis Safire (; né Safir; 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 wrote the "On Language" column in The New York Times Magazine about popular etymology, new or unusual usages, and other language-related topics. Safire later added an "e" to his surname to better convey its pronunciation, while his brothers Leonard Safir and Matthew P. Safire graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, a specialized public high school in New York City. After dropping out of Syracuse, Safire worked for noted public relations specialist and journalist Tex.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.