View source for Winston Churchill

{{nobelprize|Literature}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = Sir Winston Churchill - 19086236948.jpg
| alt                 = Churchill wearing a suit, standing and holding a chair
| caption             = ''[[The Roaring Lion]]'', a portrait by [[Yousuf Karsh]] at the [[Centre Block|Canadian Parliament]], 30 December 1941.
| honorific_prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = Sir Winston S Churchill
| honorific_suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KG|OM|CH|TD|DL|FRS|RA}}
| office              = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]]
| monarch             = {{unbulleted list
 |[[George VI]]
 |[[Elizabeth II]]
 }}
| deputy              = [[Anthony Eden]]
| term_start          = 26 October 1951
| term_end            = 5 April 1955
| predecessor         = [[Clement Attlee]]
| successor           = [[Anthony Eden]]
| monarch1            = George VI
| deputy1             = [[Clement Attlee]] (1942–1945)
| term_start1         = 10 May 1940
| term_end1           = 26 July 1945
| predecessor1        = [[Neville Chamberlain]]
| successor1          = [[Clement Attlee]]
| office2             = [[Father of the House (United Kingdom)|Father of the House of Commons]]
| term_start2         = 8 October 1959
| term_end2           = 25 September 1964
| predecessor2        = [[David Grenfell]]
| successor2          = [[Rab Butler]]
| module              = {{collapsed infobox section begin |Leadership positions
 |titlestyle       = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}{{Infobox officeholder
 |embed            = yes
 |office2          = [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|Leader of the Opposition]]
 |monarch2         = George VI
 |primeminister2   = Clement Attlee
 |term_start2      = 26 July 1945
 |term_end2        = 26 October 1951
 |predecessor2     = Clement Attlee
 |successor2       = Clement Attlee
 |office3          = [[Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)|Leader of the Conservative Party]]
 |term_start3      = 9 October 1940
 |term_end3        = 6 April 1955
 |predecessor3     = Neville Chamberlain
 |successor3       = Anthony Eden{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
 }}
| module2             = {{Collapsed infobox section begin |Ministerial offices<br />{{nobold|1939–1952}}
 |cont             = yes
 |titlestyle       = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}{{Infobox officeholder
 |embed            = yes
 |office4          = [[Secretary of State for Defence|Minister of Defence]]
 |term_start4      = 28 October 1951
 |term_end4        = 1 March 1952
 |predecessor4     = [[Manny Shinwell]]
 |successor4       = [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|The Earl Alexander of Tunis]]
 |term_start5      = 10 May 1940
 |term_end5        = 26 July 1945
 |predecessor5     = [[Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield|The Lord Chatfield]] ([[Minister for Co-ordination of Defence|Coordination of Defence]])
 |successor5       = Clement Attlee
 |office6          = [[First Lord of the Admiralty]]
 |primeminister6   = Neville Chamberlain
 |term_start6      = 3 September 1939
 |term_end6        = 11 May 1940
 |predecessor6     = [[James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope|The Earl Stanhope]]
 |successor6       = [[A. V. Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Hillsborough|A. V. Alexander]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
 }}
| module3             = {{collapsed infobox section begin |Ministerial offices<br />{{nobold|1908–1929}}
 |cont             = yes
 |titlestyle       = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}{{Infobox officeholder
 |embed            = yes
 |office7          = [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
 |primeminister7   = [[Stanley Baldwin]]
 |term_start7      = 6 November 1924
 |term_end7        = 4 June 1929
 |predecessor7     = [[Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden|Philip Snowden]]
 |successor7       = Philip Snowden
 |office8          = [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]]
 |primeminister8   = [[David Lloyd George]]
 |term_start8      = 13 February 1921
 |term_end8        = 19 October 1922
 |predecessor8     = [[Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner|The Viscount Milner]]
 |successor8       = [[Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire|The Duke of Devonshire]]
 |office9          = [[Secretary of State for Air]]
 |primeminister9   = [[David Lloyd George]]
 |term_start9      = 10 January 1919
 |term_end9        = 13 February 1921
 |predecessor9     = [[William Weir, 1st Viscount Weir|William Weir]]
 |successor9       = [[Frederick Guest]]
 |office10         = [[Secretary of State for War]]
 |primeminister10  = David Lloyd George
 |term_start10     = 10 January 1919
 |term_end10       = 13 February 1921
 |predecessor10    = [[Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner|The Viscount Milner]]
 |successor10      = [[Laming Worthington-Evans]]
 |office11         = [[Minister of Munitions]]
 |primeminister11  = David Lloyd George
 |term_start11     = 17 July 1917
 |term_end11       = 10 January 1919
 |predecessor11    = [[Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison|Christopher Addison]]
 |successor11      = [[Andrew Weir, 1st Baron Inverforth|Andrew Weir]]
 |office12         = [[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]
 |primeminister12  = [[H. H. Asquith]]
 |term_start12     = 25 May 1915
 |term_end12       = 25 November 1915
 |predecessor12    = [[Edwin Montagu]]
 |successor12      = [[Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel|Herbert Samuel]]
 |office13         = [[First Lord of the Admiralty]]
 |primeminister13  = H. H. Asquith
 |term_start13     = 24 October 1911
 |term_end13       = 25 May 1915
 |predecessor13    = [[Reginald McKenna]]
 |successor13      = [[Arthur Balfour]]
 |office14         = [[Home Secretary]]
 |primeminister14  = H. H. Asquith
 |term_start14     = 19 February 1910
 |term_end14       = 24 October 1911
 |predecessor14    = [[Herbert Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone|Herbert Gladstone]]
 |successor14      = [[Reginald McKenna]]
 |office15         = [[President of the Board of Trade]]
 |primeminister15  = H. H. Asquith
 |term_start15     = 12 April 1908
 |term_end15       = 14 February 1910
 |predecessor15    = David Lloyd George
 |successor15      = [[Sydney Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton|Sydney Buxton]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
 }}
| module4             = {{collapsed infobox section begin |Parliamentary offices
 |cont             = yes
 |titlestyle       = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}{{Infobox officeholder
 |embed            = yes
 |office1          = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Woodford (UK Parliament constituency)|Woodford]]
 |term_start1      = 5 July 1945
 |term_end1        = 25 September 1964
 |predecessor1     = Constituency established
 |successor1       = Constituency abolished
 |constituency_MP2 = [[Epping (UK Parliament constituency)|Epping]]
 |term_start2      = 29 October 1924
 |term_end2        = 15 June 1945
 |predecessor2     = [[Leonard Lyle, 1st Baron Lyle of Westbourne|Leonard Lyle]]
 |successor2       = [[Leah Manning]]
 |constituency_MP3 = [[Dundee (UK Parliament constituency)|Dundee]]
 |alongside3       = [[Alexander Wilkie]]
 |term_start3      = 24 April 1908
 |term_end3        = 26 October 1922
 |predecessor3     = {{unbulleted list
  |[[Edmund Robertson, 1st Baron Lochee|Edmund Robertson]]
  |[[Alexander Wilkie]]
  }}
 |successor3       = {{unbulleted list
  |[[Edwin Scrymgeour]]
  |[[E. D. Morel]]
  }}
 |constituency_MP4 = [[Manchester North West (UK Parliament constituency)|Manchester North West]]
 |term_start4      = 8 February 1906
 |term_end4        = 24 April 1908
 |predecessor4     = [[William Houldsworth]]
 |successor4       = [[William Joynson-Hicks, 1st Viscount Brentford|William Joynson-Hicks]]
 |constituency_MP5 = [[Oldham (UK Parliament constituency)|Oldham]]
 |term_start5      = 24 October 1900
 |term_end5        = 8 January 1906
 |predecessor5     = [[Walter Runciman, 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford|Walter Runciman]]
 |successor5       = [[John Albert Bright]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
 |birth_name       = Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
 |birth_date       = {{birth date|1874|11|30|df=y}}
 |birth_place      = [[Blenheim, Oxfordshire]], England
 |death_date       = {{death date and age|1965|1|24|1874|11|30|df=yes}}
 |death_place      = [[Kensington]], [[County of London|London]]<!--as was-->, England
 |restingplace     = [[St Martin's Church, Bladon]]
 |party            = {{unbulleted list
  |{{longitem|[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]<br />{{hlist|class=inline|(1900–1904 | 1924–1964)}}}}
  |{{longitem|[[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]]<br />(1904–1924)}}
  }}
 |spouse           = {{marriage|[[Clementine Churchill|Clementine Hozier]]|12 September 1908}}
 |children         = {{hlist | [[Diana Churchill|Diana]] | [[Randolph Churchill|Randolph]] | [[Sarah Churchill (actress)|Sarah]] | [[Marigold Churchill|Marigold]] | [[Mary Soames|Mary]] }}
 |parents          = {{unbulleted list
  |[[Lord Randolph Churchill]]
  |[[Jennie Jerome]]
  }}
 |education        = {{unbulleted list
  |[[Harrow School]]
  |[[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
  }}
 |allegiance       = {{flagu|United Kingdom}}
 |branch           = {{unbulleted list
  |{{army|UK}}
  |{{flagicon|UK|military}} [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]]
  }}
 |serviceyears     = 1893–1924
 |rank             = [[Honours of Winston Churchill#Military ranks and titles|See list]]
 |commands         = [[Royal Scots Fusiliers|6th Battalion,<br />&nbsp;Royal Scots Fusiliers]]
 |battles          = {{unbulleted list
  |[[Mahdist War]]
  |[[Second Boer War]] {{POW}}
  |[[History of the United Kingdom during the First World War|First World War]]
  }}
 |mawards          = 
 | awards =[[Nobel Prize in Literature]] (1953)
 |signature        =
 }}
}}
[[File:Winston Churchill 1874 - 1965 ZZZ5426F.jpg|thumb|Churchill in military uniform in 1895]]
[[File:Wc0042-3b13159r.jpg|thumb|A young Winston Churchill on a lecture tour of the United States in 1900]]

'''Sir''' '''Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill''' <small>[[Order of the Garter|KG]] [[Order of Merit|OM]] [[Order of the Companions of Honour|CH]] [[TD]] [[FRS]] [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|PC]]</small> (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was an [[English people|English]] [[politician]]. He was [[Prime Minister]] of the [[United Kingdom]] twice, once during [[World War II]], and again in the early 1950s.

Churchill was the only person to have been a member of the [[British Government]] during both World Wars, and the last commoner (non-royal) to be granted a [[state funeral]].  He was also a [[soldier]], [[journalist]], and [[writer]].  He won the [[Nobel Prize in literature]] in 1953.<ref name="NOBEL"/>

Churchill featured in two [[Mass media|media]] [[poll]]s. He was ranked as the greatest [[United Kingdom|British]] prime minister of the [[20th century|twentieth century]] by 20 prominent historians, politicians and commentators. They were asked by [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''The Westminster Hour'' to rank the 19 prime ministers from [[Lord Salisbury]] at the turn of the century through to [[John Major]] in the 1990s.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/575219.stm Churchill 'greatest PM of 20th Century']</ref> In a 2002 [[BBC 2]] television poll, Churchill was ranked as the greatest Briton in history. A million votes were cast, and the voting was heavily influenced by public campaigns from various candidates.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2509465.stm Churchill voted greatest Briton]</ref>

He is the only British Prime Minister to have received the [[Nobel Prize]].

== Personal life ==
Winston Churchill was born on 30 November 1874 at [[Blenheim Palace]], [[Oxfordshire]], [[England]], the home of the [[Duke]]s of [[Marlborough]]. His father, [[Lord Randolph Churchill]], was a younger son of the 7th Duke, and a leading [[Tory]] [[politician]]. His mother (née Jenny Jerome) was [[United States|American]].<ref name="NOBEL">[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1953/churchill-bio.html Winston Churchill - The Nobel Prize in Literature 1953]</ref>

As a boy, Churchill went to the famous [[Harrow School]].<ref name="NOBEL" /> He did not get good results, but said he was good at fighting.

He joined the [[British Army]] in 1893. In 1896, he was transferred to [[Bombay]], in what was the [[British Raj|Indian Empire]] ([[British India]]). He fought in what is now [[Pakistan]]. After this, he fought in a war in [[Sudan]], in 1898 as an [[officer]] in the [[cavalry]]. In 1899, he went to the [[Second Boer War]] in [[South Africa]], to be a newspaper [[reporter]]. He was captured by the [[Boer]]s, but managed to escape.

In 1900, he became a [[politician]] in the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], and was elected to [[Parliament]]. In 1904, he changed parties and joined the [[Liberal Party]], but later returned to the Conservative Party.<ref name="NOBEL" />
He married Clementine Hozier in 1908, and had five children named Diana, Randolph, Sarah, Marigold and Mary.

== World War I ==
In 1910 Churchill became [[Home Secretary]], one of the most important members of the government. In 1911 he was made First Lord of the [[Admiralty]], which put him in charge of the [[Royal Navy]]. When [[World War I]] broke out, he stayed in that job. He organized an invasion in [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]] which went wrong, and because of this, he was made to leave the government. He joined the army and was sent to fight in France, although he was still a [[Member of Parliament]]. In 1917 he was made minister in charge of military supplies (Minister of [[Munitions]]).

== Between the wars ==
After World War I, in 1919, Churchill was made Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Air ([[aircraft]]). In 1920, Winston ordered the first air bombing in Africa when he bombed the [[Darwiish State]], (also called [[Daraawiish State]]).<ref>{{cite book| last = Fergusson| first = James| title = The World's Most Dangerous Place: Inside the Outlaw State of Somalia| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EIxAvWE5FNMC&pg=PA229| year = 2013| publisher = Transworld| isbn = 978-1-4464-8705-1| page = 229 }}</ref>

In 1921 he was in charge of the [[colony|colonies]] as Secretary of State. Soon after, in 1922 he lost in an election. In 1924 he became a member of Parliament again, this time not as a member of any party. In 1925 he joined the Conservative Party again. He became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] (Minister of Finance) in 1924.

After 1929, Churchill disagreed with many things the Conservative party believed in. He was not given any job in the government. Instead he wrote books. One was called ''Marlborough: his life and times'', about his famous ancestor [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough]]; another was ''A History of the English Speaking Peoples'', which was not published until after [[World War 2]].

When [[Adolf Hitler]] came to power in [[Germany]], Churchill warned that Britain should strengthen its military and oppose Hitler.  However, very few leaders agreed with him.

== World War II ==
At the start of World War II, Churchill was again put in charge of the Navy. In 1940 the war was going badly for Britain. Prime Minister [[Neville Chamberlain]] resigned on May 10 and Churchill was given the job. Some people thought that Britain could not win the war, and that the British government should make peace with Hitler. Churchill was sure that Britain could win, and promised to continue the fight. He made famous speeches that are still remembered today.

He was friends with the President of the United States, [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. He persuaded Roosevelt to give supplies to Britain, and to help Britain. He had many meetings with Roosevelt and with [[Joseph Stalin]], the leader of the [[Soviet Union]], after they came into the war. They were called the ''Big Three''.

== After the war ==
In 1945, his party lost an election, and he stopped being Prime Minister. However, he became Prime Minister again in 1951, which he was until 1955.

He was knighted in 1953, and became Sir Winston, and also won the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]].

In 1955, he retired from being Prime Minister. In 1964, he retired from Parliament.
[[File:ChurchillsUSPassport.png|thumb|right|Winston Churchill's identification document as an Honorary Citizen of the United States, provided as a gift from President [[John F. Kennedy]].<ref name="7fam1172">{{cite web|title=7 FAM 1171: Honorary Citizenship|url=http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86761.pdf|work=Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7 – Consular Affairs|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=2 February 2011|date=9 April 2008}}</ref>]]
In 1963, President [[John F. Kennedy]] named him 'Honorary Citizen of the United States' but too ill to attend a White House ceremony, his son and grandson accepted the award.

Sir Winston died of a [[stroke]] at the age of 90, in 1965. When he died, his wife Lady Clementine Churchill and other members of the family were at his bedside.

== Books ==
Title (US Title) (Year of publication)
* ''The Story of the Malakand Field Force'' (1898)
* ''[[The River War]]'' (1899): about the reconquest of the [[Sudan]], after the revolution of the self-proclaimed [[Mahdi]], [[Muhammed Ahmed]].
* ''Savrola'' (1900; serialised 1899 and published USA 1899): a novel
* ''[[London to Ladysmith via Pretoria]]'' (1900): the [[Second Boer War]], and the Relief of Ladysmith
* ''Ian Hamilton's March'' (1900): Second Boer War continued
* ''Mr. Brodrick’s Army'' (1903)
* ''[[Lord Randolph Churchill (book)|Lord Randolph Churchill]]'' (1906): two-volume biography of his father
* ''For Free Trade'' (1906)
* ''My African Journey'' (1908)
* ''Liberalism and the Social Problem'' (1909)
* ''The People’s Rights'' (1910)
* ''The World Crisis'' (1923–1931)
* ''My Early Life: A Roving Commission'' (1930): autobiography
* ''India'' (1931)
* ''Thoughts and Adventures'' (''Amid These Storms'') (1932)
* ''[[Marlborough: His Life and Times]]'' (1933–1938): four-volume biography on his greatest predecessor
* ''Great Contemporaries'' (1937): short biographies
* ''Arms and the Covenant'' or ''[[While England Slept]]: A Survey of World Affairs, 1932–1938'' (1938): a call to arms, warning about Hitler, urging rearmament
* ''Step by Step 1936–1939'' (1939)
* ''Addresses Delivered in the Year 1940'' (1940)
* ''Broadcast Addresses'' (1941)
* ''Into Battle'' (''Blood Sweat and Tears'') (1941)
* ''The Unrelenting Struggle'' (1942)
* ''The End of the Beginning'' (1943)
* ''Onwards to Victory'' (1944)
* ''The Dawn of Liberation'' (1945)
* ''Victory'' (1946)
* ''Secret Sessions Speeches'' (1946)
* ''War Speeches'' 1940–1945 (1946)
* ''[[The Second World War (Churchill)|The Second World War]]'' (1948–1954): six volumes (12 in paperback)
* ''The Sinews of Peace'' (1948)
* ''Painting as a Pastime'' (1948)
* ''Europe Unite'' (1950)
* ''In the Balance'' (1951)
* ''The War Speeches'' 1939–1945 (1952)
* ''Stemming the Tide'' (1953)
* ''[[A History of the English-Speaking Peoples]]'' (1956–1958): four volumes
* ''The Unwritten Alliance'' (1961)

===Essays and short stories===
* "Man Overboard!" (1899). First printed in ''The Harmsworth Magazine'', January 1899
* "If Lee had not won the Battle of Gettysburg" (1930). First published in ''Scribner's Magazine'', December 1930.<ref>[http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wmh/id/50192/show/50112/rec/1 Reprinted in ''Wisconsin Magazine of History'': Volume 44, number 4, summer, 1961]</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Other websites ==
{{Commons category|Winston Churchill}}
* [http://www.winstonchurchill.org/ The International Churchill Society -]
* {{Find a Grave|2194|accessdate= 7 December 2013}}

[[File:Blenheim Palace cropped.jpg|thumb|left|400px|Blenheim Palace: the birthplace of Winston Churchill]]

{{UKPrimeMinisters|Churchill, Winston}}
{{Nobel Prize in Literature}}
{{Time Persons of the Year 1927–1950}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Winston}}
[[Category:1874 births]]
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[[Category:Winston Churchill|*]]