Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) 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. Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill was born in Oxfordshire into the wealthy, aristocratic Spencer family. He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British India, the Mahdist War and the Second Boer War, gaining fame as a war correspondent and writing books about his campaigns. Elected a Conservative MP in 1900, he defected to the Liberals in 1904. In H. H. Asquith's Liberal government, Churchill was president of the Board of Trade and later Home Secretary, championing prison reform and workers' social security. As First Lord of the Admiralty before and during the First World War he oversaw the disastrous naval attack on the Dardanelles (a prelude to the Gallipoli campaign) and was demoted to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He resigned in November 1915 and joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front for six months. In 1917, he returned to government under David Lloyd George and served successively as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, and Secretary of State for the Colonies, overseeing the Anglo-Irish Treaty and British foreign policy in the Middle East. After two years out of Parliament, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin's Conservative government, returning sterling in 1925 to the gold standard, depressing the UK economy. Out of government during his so-called "wilderness years" in the 1930s, Churchill took the lead in calling for rearmament to counter the threat of militarism in Nazi Germany. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was re-appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. In May 1940, he became prime minister, succeeding Neville Chamberlain. Churchill formed a national government and oversaw British involvement in the Allied war effort against the Axis powers, resulting in victory in 1945. After the Conservatives' defeat in the 1945 general election, he became Leader of the Opposition. Amid the developing Cold War with the Soviet Union, he publicly warned of an "iron curtain" of Soviet influence in Europe and promoted European unity. Between his terms, he wrote several books recounting his experience during the war. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. He lost the 1950 election but was returned to office in 1951. His second term was preoccupied with foreign affairs, especially Anglo-American relations and preservation of what remained of the British Empire, with India no longer a part of it. Domestically, his government's priority was their extensive and successful housebuilding programme. In declining health, Churchill resigned in 1955, remaining an MP until 1964. Upon his death in 1965, he was given a state funeral. One of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill remains popular in the UK. He is generally viewed as a victorious wartime leader who played an integral role in defending liberal democracy against the spread of fascism. A staunch imperialist, he has sometimes been criticised for comments on race, in addition to some wartime decisions such as area bombing. Historians rank Churchill as one of the greatest British prime ministers.

Infobox

Monarchs

mw- George VI Elizabeth II

Deputy

Clement Attlee (de facto; 1942–1945)

Preceded by

Walter Runciman

Succeeded by

Edwin Scrymgeour E. D. Morel

Monarch

George VI

Senior political offices

Senior political offices Father of the House of CommonsIn office8 October 1959 – 25 September 1964Preceded byDavid GrenfellSucceeded byRab ButlerLeader of the OppositionIn office26 July 1945 – 26 October 1951Prime MinisterClement AttleePreceded byClement AttleeSucceeded byClement AttleeLeader of the Conservative PartyIn office9 October 1940 – 6 April 1955Preceded byNeville ChamberlainSucceeded byAnthony Eden

Prime Minister

H. H. Asquith

Ministerial offices 1939–1952

Ministerial offices 1939–1952 Minister of DefenceIn office28 October 1951 – 1 March 1952Prime MinisterHimselfPreceded byManny ShinwellSucceeded byHarold AlexanderIn office10 May 1940 – 26 July 1945Prime MinisterHimselfPreceded byErnle Chatfield (Coordination of Defence)Succeeded byClement AttleeFirst Lord of the AdmiraltyIn office3 September 1939 – 11 May 1940Prime MinisterNeville ChamberlainPreceded byJames StanhopeSucceeded byA. V. Alexander

Ministerial offices 1908–1929

Ministerial offices 1908–1929 Chancellor of the ExchequerIn office6 November 1924 – 4 June 1929Prime MinisterStanley BaldwinPreceded byPhilip SnowdenSucceeded byPhilip SnowdenSecretary of State for the ColoniesIn office13 February 1921 – 19 October 1922Prime MinisterDavid Lloyd GeorgePreceded byAlfred MilnerSucceeded byVictor CavendishSecretary of State for AirIn office10 January 1919 – 13 February 1921Prime MinisterDavid Lloyd GeorgePreceded byWilliam WeirSucceeded byFrederick GuestSecretary of State for WarIn office10 January 1919 – 13 February 1921Prime MinisterDavid Lloyd GeorgePreceded byThe Viscount MilnerSucceeded byLaming Worthington-EvansMinister of MunitionsIn office17 July 1917 – 10 January 1919Prime MinisterDavid Lloyd GeorgePreceded byChristopher AddisonSucceeded byAndrew WeirChancellor of the Duchy of LancasterIn office25 May – 25 November 1915 (1915-05-25 – 1915-11-25)Prime MinisterH. H. AsquithPreceded byEdwin MontaguSucceeded byHerbert SamuelFirst Lord of the AdmiraltyIn office24 October 1911 – 25 May 1915Prime MinisterH. H. AsquithPreceded byReginald McKennaSucceeded byArthur BalfourHome SecretaryIn office19 February 1910 – 24 October 1911Prime MinisterH. H. AsquithPreceded byHerbert GladstoneSucceeded byReginald McKennaPresident of the Board of TradeIn office12 April 1908 – 14 February 1910Prime MinisterH. H. AsquithPreceded byDavid Lloyd GeorgeSucceeded bySydney Buxton

Constituency

Oldham (1900–1906)Manchester North West (1906–1908)Dundee (1908–1922)

Born

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill(1874-11-30)30 November 1874Blenheim, Oxfordshire, England

Died

24 January 1965(1965-01-24) (aged 90)Hyde Park Gate, London, England

Resting place

St Martin's Church, Bladon, Oxfordshire

Political party

Conservative (1900–1904, 1924–1964)

Other politicalaffiliations

Liberal (1904–1924)Constitutionalist (1924)

Spouse

mw- Clementine Hozier (m. 1908)

Children

5, including Diana, Randolph, Sarah and Mary

Parents

Lord Randolph Churchill Jeanette "Jennie" Jerome

Relatives

Spencer family

Education

Harrow School Royal Military College, Sandhurst

Occupation

mw- .inline, .inline dl, .inline ol, .inline ul, dl dl, dl ol, dl ul, ol dl, ol ol dd dd dd , dd dt , dd li , dt dd , dt dt , dt li , li dd dd dd , dd dt , dd li , dt dd , dt dt , dt li , li dd dd ol li Historianpainterpoliticianmilitary officerwriter

Civilian awards

Full list

Branch/service

British Army Territorial Army (from 1902)

Years of service

1893–1924

Rank

Colonel(Full list)

Unit

4th Queen's Own Hussars Malakand Field Force 21st Lancers South African Light Horse Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars Grenadier Guards Royal Scots Fusiliers

Commands

6th bn, Royal Scots Fusiliers

Battles/wars

North-West Frontier Mahdist War Second Boer War (POW) First World War

Military awards

Full list

Party

Conservative (1900–1904, 1924–1964)