L. Brent Bozell, Jr.

Leo Brent Bozell Jr. (; January 15, 1926 – April 15, 1997) was an American conservative activist and Catholic writer, and former U.S. Merchant Marine. He was a conservative Catholic, and a strong supporter of the anti-abortion movement. In 1966, he co-founded the Catholic magazine Triumph, which published for a decade until its dissolution in 1976. Early life and education Bozell was born in Omaha, Nebraska to Lois (née Robbins) and Leo B. Bozell, the co-founder of Bozell Worldwide. He attended Creighton Preparatory School in Omaha. Bozell was the state American Legion Oratorical Contest Champion of Nebraska in 1943 and 1944, winning the national title in 1944. He served in the U.S. Merchant Marine in the Pacific during World War II. Bozell resolved to convert to Catholicism in 1946. But after his father's death that same year, he deferred his decision until 1947 so as not to upset his family. Bozell attended Yale University, where he became best friends with William F. Buckley, Jr., who was his teammate in the Yale debating society. In the book Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus, Buckley described Bozell as "a young, energetic red-haired Yalie from Omaha". At Yale, Bozell also was president of the Yale Political Union and president of Yale's World Federalist Movement.