Winston Churchill was a British statesmen, leader and author. He is recognized as one of the greatest political leaders of the twentieth century. His excellent leadership helped the country stand firm against Hitler and the Germans.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born on November 30, 1874 in Oxfordshire, England to Lord Randolph and Jennie Jerome.
He belonged to a family of wealthy aristocrats and came from a long line of English Politicians. His father was a politician in the British government. Lord Randolph held many high positions and was a famous figure in Tory Politics.
Winston attended the Harrow prep School as a child. In school he developed an interest in the English language. Later, he went to Royal Military College, Sandhurst and graduated in 1894. After graduation, he joined the British Army. Being in the Army, Winston traveled to many places as a soldier. He went on to work as a war-time newspaper correspondent. He wrote stories about battles and his experience in the military.
In 1896, Churchill moved to British India. He worked as both a soldier and a journalist. He established himself as a successful writer. In 1898, Churchill published his first book, The Story of the Malakand Filed Force. It was about his experience in India’s North-West Frontier Province. The Morning post wanted Churchill to cover the Boer War in South Africa. However, he was captured by enemy soldiers and became prisoners of war. He somehow escaped prison and was rescued. After his incident, he rose to fame for a while and became a hero in Britain. He wrote about his experiences in the book London to Ladysmith via Pretoria (1990). By the time he returned to England, he had already published five books.
Churchill proved to be a great writer. But after publishing five books, he fully focused on his political career. In 1900, Churchill was nominated for the parliament and joined the House of Commons as a Conservative. But four years later, he moved to the Liberal party. During World War II, Churchill became the first lord in command of the Royal Navy. The primeminster of the time wanted to pacify Germany and Hitler. But, Churchill warned the government about their chances of failure and advised that they needed to fight Hitler, lest Hitler take over all of Europe someday.
In 1940, Germany invaded and took over control or Norway. During this time, Arthur Neville Chamberlain was the prime minister. After the invasion, Chamberlain resigned and Churchill became the prime minister in 1940. He very smartly handled the situation of the German invasion and refused to sign a peace treaty with the Nazis. He also played a significant role in motivating the British Empire. He was a great orator. In one of his speeches, he warned people that the battle of Britain was about to begin. With Churchill’s leadership, the British held off Hitler and eventually defeated the Germans.
After the war, Churchill was no longer the prime minister. But he continued to work in the government. In 1954, he again became the prime minister in 1954; he introduced new reforms such as the Mines and Quarries Act of 1954 and the Housing Repairs and Rent Act of 1955.
Churchill’s major literary works include his series titled The Second World War (1948-53). The series was a great success and even won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. It made Churchill famous as a writer in both Britain and the United States. In 1963, he became honorary citizens of the United States.
Churchill married Clementine Hozier in 1908. They were happily married and had four children.
A few years later, Churchill’s health began to deteriorate. He died on January 24, 1965 after he suffered from a stroke. Churchill’s funeral was the largest state funeral in the world history at the time. Churchill, around the time of his death, was worried about the Soviet Union and the Red Army. He predicted that as soon as World War II ended, a Cold War between the Western Nations of NATO (such as Britain, France, USA) and the communist Soviet Union Would commence. This prediction proved to be true.