Winston Churchill (d. 1965)

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Biography

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. For some 62 of the years between 1900 and 1964, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) and represented a total of five constituencies over that time. Ideologically an adherent to economic liberalism and imperialism, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.

In Their Own Words (5)

I pass with relief from the tossing sea of Cause and Theory to the firm ground of Result and Fact.

The Story of the Malakand Field Force: An Episode of Frontier War (1898), Chapter III , 1897

Arabs would have sat in the dark forever had not the Zionist engineers harnessed the Jordan river for electrification. Now they swarm into Palestine in seeking the light. (1922)

The World Crisis, 1911–1914 : Chapter I (The Vials of Wrath), Churchill, Butterworth (1923), pp. 10-11 , 1923

Thus I got into my bones the essential structure of the ordinary British sentence, which is a noble thing.

On studying English rather than Latin at school, Chapter 2 (Harrow). , 1930

Although always prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it should be postponed.

Chapter 4 (Sandhurst), p. 72. , 1930

Mr. Gladstone read Homer for fun, which I thought served him right.

Chapter 2 (Harrow). , 1930

Timeline

The story of Winston Churchill, told in moments.

1874 Birth

Born at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. Half-American through his mother, Jennie Jerome, a Brooklyn socialite. His father Lord Randolph Churchill was a prominent but troubled politician. Winston was a mediocre student who failed military entrance exams twice.

Born at Blenheim Palace, half-American. Did your mother s heritage shape your worldview? Were you always destined for politics?

1899 Event

Captured by Boers during the Second Boer War while working as a war correspondent. Escaped from a prisoner-of-war camp in Pretoria by climbing over a wall at night. Made it 300 miles to Portuguese East Africa. Came home a celebrity.

Captured by Boers, escaped, became a hero. Was that the making of Churchill? Was the escape planned or improvised?

1940 Event

Became Prime Minister as Germany invaded France and the Low Countries. "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat." He was 65 and had spent a decade in political wilderness. The timing was accidental and perfect.

Blood, toil, tears, and sweat. Did those words come easily? Becoming PM as France fell. Were you the only one who believed Britain could survive?

1940 Event

Delivered the "We shall fight on the beaches" speech to Parliament. Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany. The Dunkirk evacuation had just saved 338,000 troops. Churchill turned a retreat into a rallying cry.

We shall fight on the beaches. Did you know those words would define a nation? Britain stood alone. Was there ever a moment you considered surrender?

1953 Event

Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his historical and biographical writing. Not in Physics or Peace. He'd also won a Grammy for best spoken word album. He painted over 500 oil paintings in his lifetime.

Nobel in Literature, not Peace. Did that surprise you? Were you a better writer than politician?

1965 Death

Died at his London home at 90. He'd suffered a severe stroke nine days earlier. His state funeral was the largest in British history. 300,000 people filed past his coffin. Cranes along the Thames dipped in salute as the barge carrying his body passed.

The Queen bowed to your coffin. Was that the honor you d want? 300,000 filing past in Westminster Hall. Does that farewell match the life?