Biography of Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was a twentieth century politician famous for being Prime Minister during the Second World War.

When and Where was he Born?

30th November 1874, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England.

Family Background:

Winston Churchill was the eldest son of Lord Randolph Churchill and his American wife Jenny. He was a direct descendant of John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough.

Education:

Harrow School. Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Timeline of Winston Churchill:

1895: Churchill was commissioned in the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars.

1897: He served in the Malakand Campaign.

1898: He served in the Nile campaign, and as a correspondent for a London Newspaper during the Boer War. He was captured but escaped and a £25 reward was offered for his re-arrest.

1900: Churchill entered Parliament as a Conservative MP.

1906: He crossed the floor of the House of Commons to join the ruling Liberal Party and was later appointed Colonial Under-Secretary.

1908: As President of the Board of Trade Churchill introduced Labour Exchanges. He marries Clementine Hozier on 12 September at St. Margaret’s, Westminster.

1912: As Home Secretary he witnessed the “Siege of Sidney Street” and as First Lord of the Admiralty he began strengthening Britain’s army and navy for the war with Germany that he could see coming.

1915: His reputation took a knock after the disastrous Dardanelles Expedition in the First World War.

1917: Prime Minister David Lloyd George made him Minister of Munitions.

1919-1921: Churchill held the office of Secretary of State for War and Air. Afterwards he fell from favour and was excluded from the Cabinet.

1924-1929: He moved back to the Conservatives and became Chancellor of the Exchequer and played a key role in ending the General Strike of 1926.

1930’s: Churchill’s warnings of the rise of Nazism and his criticisms of the National Government’s unpreparedness for war go unheeded.

1939: Beginning of the Second World War.

1940: Neville Chamberlain resigns and Churchill becomes Prime Minister of the wartime Coalition Government on 13th May.

1940-45: Churchill wins the support of the British and American people. He develops as an accomplished orator and masterminds the overall strategies for the Battle of Britain, Alamein and the North African Campaign.

1941: Churchill suffers his first heart attack.

1945: Churchill attends the Yalta Conference with Joseph Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt to try to put an end to the power base of Germany once and for all. Loses the General election to the Labour Party.

1951: He is elected Prime Minister again at the age of 77 and promoted the development of Britain’s first Nuclear weapons. He began a series of measures to help with the post-war reconstruction of Britain.

1953: Churchill wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. He also suffers a severe heart attack whilst still in office.

1955: He retires in favour of Anthony Eden at the age of 81.

When and Where did he Die?

24th January 1965, London, England nine days after suffering a severe stroke.

Age at Death:

90.

Written Works:

1941: “Into Battle.
1948: “The Second World War.”
1951: “A History of the English Speaking Peoples.”

Marriage:

12 September 1908, at St. Margaret’s, Westminster to Clementine Hozier.

Site of Grave:

St. Martin’s Churchyard, Bladon, Oxfordshire, England.

Places of Interest:

CAMBRIDGESHIRE:

Churchill Archive Centre, Cambridge.

KENT:

Chartwell House, Westerham.

LONDON:

The Cabinet War Rooms, King Charles Street, Whitehall.
Statue of Churchill and Roosevelt in Old Bond Street.
Statue in Parliament Square.

OXFORDSHIRE:

Blenheim Palace, Woodstock.

WEST SUSSEX:

Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead has a mural of monkeys including one of Churchill.