Born: 30 November 1874 · Died: 24 January 1965 · Age: 90
British Prime Minister who led the country through the Second World War with defiant speeches, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature
Did you know?He was an accomplished artist who produced hundreds of paintings and won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Quick facts
Date of birth30 November 1874
Date of death24 January 1965
Age at death90
Cause of deathStroke
NationalityBritish
BirthplaceBlenheim Palace, United Kingdom
Occupationpolitician, historian, journalist
Editor's Take:
Churchill's career is a lesson in how reputations can rise, fall and rise again. Before 1940 many regarded him as a brilliant but erratic politician, blamed for the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in the First World War and dismissed for years as out of step. Yet when Britain stood almost alone against Nazi Germany, his speeches gave the country the resolve to fight on. He was also a prolific writer and journalist who had reported on wars long before leading one. His record on empire and on India remains fiercely debated, which keeps him at the centre of arguments about Britain's past.
Key Milestones
1900: Elected to Parliament
1911: Becomes First Lord of the Admiralty
1940: Becomes Prime Minister
1946: Gives the Iron Curtain speech
1951: Returns as Prime Minister
1953: Wins the Nobel Prize in Literature
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.
