1874-1965. British Conservative politician.
In Parliament from 1900, as a Liberal until
1923, he held a number of ministerial
offices, including First Lord of the
Admiralty 1911-15 and chancellor of the
Exchequer 1924-29. Absent from the cabinet in
the 1930s, he returned Sept 1939 to lead a
coalition government 1940-45, negotiating
with Allied leaders in World War II; he was
again prime minister 1951-55. Nobel Prize for
Literature 1953. He was born at Blenheim
Palace, the elder son of Lord Randolph
Churchill. During the Boer War he was a war
correspondent and made a dramatic escape from
imprisonment in Pretoria. In 1900 he was
elected Conservative member of Parliament for
Oldham, but he disagreed with Chamberlain's
tariff-reform policy and joined the Liberals.
Asquith made him president of the Board of
Trade 1908, where he introduced legislation
for the establishment of labour exchanges. He
became home secretary 1910. In 1911 Asquith
appointed him First Lord of the Admiralty. In
1915-16 he served in the trenches in France,
but then resumed his parliamentary duties and
was minister of munitions under Lloyd George
1917, when he was concerned with the
development of the tank. After the armistice
he was secretary for war 1918-21 and then as
colonial secretary played a leading part in
the establishment of the Irish Free State.
During the postwar years he was active in
support of the Whites (anti-Bolsheviks) in
Russia. In 1922-24 Churchill was out of
Parliament. He left the Liberals 1923, and
was returned for Epping as a
Constitutionalist 1924. Baldwin made him
chancellor of the Exchequer, and he brought
about Britain's return to the gold standard
and was prominent in the defeat of the
General Strike of 1926. In 1929-39 he was out
of office as he disagreed with the
Conservatives on India, rearmament, and
Chamberlain's policy of appeasement. On the
first day of World War II he went back to his
old post at the Admiralty. In May 1940 he was
called to the premiership as head of an
all-party administration and made a much
quoted `blood, tears, toil, and sweat' speech
to the House of Commons. He had a close
relationship with US president Roosevelt, and
in Aug 1941 concluded the Atlantic Charter
with him. He travelled to Washington,
Casablanca, Cairo, Moscow, and Tehran,
meeting the other leaders of the Allied war
effort. In Feb 1945 he met Stalin and
Roosevelt in the Crimea and agreed on the
final plans for victory. On 8 May he
announced the unconditional surrender of
Germany. On 23 May 1945 the coalition was
dissolved, and Churchill formed a caretaker
government drawn mainly from the
Conservatives. Defeated in the general
election in July, he became leader of the
opposition until the election Oct 1951, in
which he again became prime minister. In Apr
1955 he resigned. His home from 1922,
Chartwell in Kent, is a museum. His books
include a six-volume history of World War II
(1948-54) and a four-volume History of the
English-Speaking Peoples (1956-58). In 1911
he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty.
In 1915-16 he served in the trenches in
France but then resumed his parliamentary
duties and was minister of munitions under
Lloyd George 1917, when he was concerned with
the development of the tank. After the
armistice he was secretary for war 1918-21
and then as colonial secretary played a
leading part in the establishment of the
Irish Free State. During the postwar years he
was active in support of the Whites
(anti-Bolsheviks) in Russia. From 1929 to
1939 he was out of office as he disagreed
with the Conservatives on India, rearmament,
and Chamberlain's policy of appeasement. On
the first day of World War II he went back to
his old post at the Admiralty. In May 1940 he
was called to the premiership as head of an
all-party administration and made a much
quoted `blood, tears, toil, and sweat' speech
to the House of Commons. He had a close
relationship with US president Roosevelt and
in Aug 1941 concluded the Atlantic Charter
with him. In Feb 1945 he met Stalin and
Roosevelt at Yalta and agreed on the final
plans for victory. On 8 May he announced the
unconditional surrender of Germany. On 23 May
1945 the coalition was dissolved, and
Churchill formed a caretaker government drawn
mainly from the Conservatives. Defeated in
the general election in July, he became
leader of the opposition until the election
Oct 1951, in which he again became prime
minister. In Apr 1955 he resigned and retired
to paint. After he died his paintings were
exhibited in several shows, including a major
retrospective in New York City in the 1980s.