Winston Churchill
/ˌwɪnstən ˈtʃɜːtʃɪl/
/ˌwɪnstən ˈtʃɜːrtʃɪl/
- (1874-1965) a politician who is remembered as one of Britain's greatest statesmen. He was the son of the conservative politician Lord Randolph Churchill and his American wife Jennie. As a young man he served as a soldier in India and Egypt, and as a journalist in South Africa. He was a Member of Parliament from 1900 to 1965, for five different constituencies. He started as a conservative, changed to the Liberal Party in 1904 and back to the Conservative Party in 1925. Between 1906 and 1929 he held many important positions in government, but went against the general feeling of his day in opposing Hitler's moves to increase Germany's supplies of weapons. When Neville Chamberlain was forced to resign in 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. His radio speeches during the Second World War gave the British people a strong determination to win the war, especially at times of great crisis. The Conservative Party, led by Churchill, lost the election of 1945, but he became Prime Minister again from 1951 to 1955 when he retired, aged 80. He was made a knight in 1953, the same year in which he won the Nobel Prize for literature. Churchill was also a skilled painter. He was famous for smoking a large cigar, and making a V-sign for 'victory'. He was often referred to simply as 'Winnie' and is remembered with great affection in both Britain and the US. In 1963 Congress made him an honorary US citizen. see also Battle of Britain “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”