William Safire, winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary, joined The New York Times in April 1973 as a political columnist. He also writes 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 10 books and made him the most widely read writer on the English language.

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, Mr. Safire was vice president of a public relations firm in New York City, then became president of his own firm, Safire Public Relations, Inc. 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.

Mr. 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 has served as a member of the Pulitzer Board, and since 1993 been active with the Dana Foundation, a philanthropy supporting brain science, immunology, and arts education; he is now its chairman.