Charles Krauthammer, Conservative Commentator and Pulitzer Prize Winner, Dies at 68

Charles Krauthammer, the Fox News commentator and Washington Post columnist, died Thursday. He was 68.

Krauthammer's death was announced by Washington Post media reporter Paul Harhi.

His son, Daniel Krauthammer, later told the Post the cause was cancer of the small intestine.

On June 8, Krauthammer published a letter, telling readers he only had a few weeks to live, 10 months after a cancer tumor was removed from his abdomen. Recent tests showed the cancer returned and continued to spread.

"I wish to thank my doctors and caregivers, whose efforts have been magnificent. My dear friends, who have given me a lifetime of memories and whose support has sustained me through these difficult months. And all of my partners at The Washington Post, Fox News, and Crown Publishing," Krauthammer wrote in his letter to colleagues.

In the letter, also published by the Post, Krauthammer said he has "no regrets" and led a "wonderful life - full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make life worth living. I am said to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended."

Krauthammer, a quadriplegic, first set out to begin a career in the medical field, graduating from Harvard Medical School in 1975. In the 1980s, he shifted gears, beginning a career as a political columnist.

In 1985, he joined the Post after writing essays for The New Republic and TIME Magazine. During his time at TIME, Kruathammer gained national attention for coining the phrase "The Reagan Doctrine" to describe President Ronald Reagan's anti-communism policies.

In 1985, he began his weekly column in The Washington Post and won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary two years later. Over time, his politics evolved from the left to the right.

Krauthammer was also a mainstay at Fox News Channel, notably appearing on Special Report and The O'Reilly Factor. He also appeared on PBS' Inside Washington.

"His always principled stand on the most important issues of our time has been a guiding star in an often turbulent world, a world that has too many superficial thinkers vulnerable to the ebb and flow of fashion, and a world that, unfortunately, has only one Charles Krauthammer," Rupert Murdoch, the executive chairman of Fox News and 21st Century Fox, said in a statement on June 8. "His words, his ideas, his dignity and his integrity will resonate within our society and within me for many, many years to come."

Krauthammer is survived by his wife, Robyn, and his son Daniel.