A Guide to the William F. Buckley Firing Line Catalog, 1999

Biographical/Historical Note

Born in the New York City borough of Manhattan, William Frank Buckley, Jr. (1925-2008) was the sixth of ten children of William Frank and Aloise Steiner Buckley. After prep school, Buckley studied Spanish at the University of Mexico and served in the U. S. Army from 1944 to 1946. In 1950, he graduated from Yale with honors having studied political science, economics, and history. Buckley worked briefly for the CIA before becoming a freelance writer and lecturer. In 1955, he founded the influential magazine National Review, credited as the foundation of mainstream conservative thought. From 1966 to 1999, Buckley hosted political and cultural debates on Firing Line, one of television's longest running programs. The author of over 50 books, Buckley also wrote the twice-weekly syndicated newspaper column, "On the Right."

Source:

"William F. Buckley Jr. Is Dead at 82." New York Times, February 27, 2008.

Scope and Contents

Two volumes compose the William F. Buckley Firing Line Catalog, 1999, documenting the public television debate program, which ran from 1966 to 1999. One volume gives a summary listing for the show's 1504 individual episodes, including the title, featured guests, and taping date and location, while the catalog offers greater description of each episode's content.

Archivist’s note: The catalog covers are on the wrong volumes, labeling them incorrectly.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

William F. Buckley Firing Line Catalog, 1999, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.

Detailed Description of the Papers