Winston Churchill

The eldest child of aristocrat Lord Randolph Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill was born on November 30, 1874. He is most renowned for his valiant leadership during the Second World War when he led the British people from the threat of loss to victory as Prime Minister of Great Britain.

He received his degree from Sandhurst's Royal Military College. He was taken prisoner while covering the Boer War in South Africa as a war correspondent. He joined the Conservative Party after his escape. Since that time, he has actively participated in British politics by holding a number of significant government positions. Churchill succeeded Chamberlain as prime minister in 1940, and he was successful in securing American military assistance and moral support during the Second World War. He spent the whole war traveling nonstop, developing personal relationships with other leaders, and planning a military strategy that ultimately led to Hitler's demise.

He wrote (The History of the English-speaking People) and painted during the most of his latter years. He received the 1953 Nobel Prize for Literature in appreciation of his historical research. Winston Churchill was declared an honorary citizen of the United States by the US Congress in 1963.

At the age of 90, Sir Winston Churchill passed away in 1965. His passing signaled the conclusion of a period in British history.