William Safire died at the age of 79 this past Sunday. A close family friend told the Washington Post that the cause of his unfortunate death was pancreatic cancer.

Despite being a college drop-out, Safire went on to become a New York Times political columnist for more than three decades, as well as a speechwriter for President Richard Nixon. He published four novels of his own, one of which making the best-seller list, and was even in the U.S Army for a couple of years. Later on, Safire won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1978 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in 2006.

Throughout his lifetime, William Safire traveled worldwide, and his accomplishments as a writer, correspondent and public relations activist spanned over seven different presidential administrations. His contributions to the New York Times as well as the world of politics will be appreciated and his life’s works celebrated.