William F. Buckley Jr.,  founder of the modern conservative movement, the novelist, columnist and television talk-show host died Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn.

He was 82 and was suffering from diabetes and emphysema, according to his son, Christopher, but the cause of death was still uncertain.

He died while at work and was found in his study.

Buckley was known for his capricious personality, darting tongue and wit. In the 1960s and 1970s was the intellectual core of American political conservatism.

Buckley was the host of one of the longest programs on television “Firing Lane” and the founder of National Review, the conservative magazine.

He wrote 55 books, from sailing to spy novels, and edited five more. This year will be released his memories about Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.

He saw his dreams accomplished when Reagan and the Bushes won the presidency. He was the one who mobilized the young people who helped Barry Goldwater in 1964 win the Republican presidential nomination.

He was born on Nov 24, 1925 in New York City and was the sixth out of 10 children of William Frank Buckley Sr., an oilman, and Aloise Steiner.

As a child Bill, as he was known his whole life, attended schools in London and Paris and showed excellent results in academics and languages. He was also a talented pianist.

Buckley attended for a short period University of Mexico and during the World War II joined the U.S. Army becoming second lieutenant.

After the war he attended Yale and was chairman of the Yale Daily News.

He started to pave the road of conservatism through his assault on Yale where he said that the University failed as an “educational leader.”

Buckley got inspired by libertarian writers like Max Eastman, free market economists like Milton Friedman, traditionalist scholars like Russell Kirk and anti-communist writers like Whittaker Chambers.

However, he based his conservatism on the national interest and a higher morality, San Francisco Chronicle reports.

He worked for the CIA in Mexico for a year and afterwards worked for the American Mercury magazine.

In 1955 he formed National Review as voice for “the disciples of truth, who defend the organic moral order.”

His ideas were more visible through his program “Firing Lane” which ran from 1966 to 1999 becoming the longest program in television history.

In an interview Buckley said about his legacy: "I founded a magazine that has published 20 million words that wouldn't have been published. That contributed to the patrimony. That's the only legacy I can think of, except for my very, very bright son," Los Angeles Times informs.