Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born to Lord Randolph Churchill and Jennie Jerome, on November 30, 1874 at Blenheim Palace. His father died young, after completely ruining his political career and his life.
At age 14, Winston Churchill entered a private school 12 miles out of London, known as the Harrow School. While there, Churchill only wrote English essays, and ignored most of his other classes.
When Winston Churchill was 19 years old, he finished military training and joined the Fourth Hussar Regiment the next year, in 1894. Churchill then became a military correspondent and an observer with the Spanish army in Cuba throughout 1895. After finishing, he rejoined his regiment. Two years later, he left for India where he would fight as part of the Malakand Field Force.
In 1898, Churchill signed up with the Tirah Expeditionary Force. While exploring the Nile, he is involved in the Battle of Omdurman. Later that year Sir Winston Churchill published his first book, entitled The Malakand Expeditionary Force.
The next year, Winston Churchill attempted to enter into the British House of Commons, but was not elected. Also that year, he published a two-volume book called The River War, which was a story of his journey with the Tirah Expeditionary Force. Churchill also signed up to participate in the Boer War with the South African Light Horse Brigade, where he would remain for the next year. Sir Winston Churchill was also being paid to record all he saw, and report to the Morning Post. However, Winston Churchill was taken prisoner after only a month of action.
Throughout 1900, Churchill wrote several books. These books were called London to Ladysmith via Pretoria, Savrola, and Ian Hamilton’s March
On January 23, 1901, Churchill was elected to Parliament as a Conservative representative of Lancashire. Churchill began to develop many enemies, especially of professional soldiers, since he had began criticizing the tactics and management of the British Army. Churchill continued to distance himself from the Conservatives until 1904, when he left and joined with the Liberal party. By his joining the Liberal party, he gained little support from either Conservatives or supporters of the army.
In the next three years he published several more books. Mr. Broderick’s Army was published in 1903. Three years later, in 1906, Sir Winston Churchill published the biography of his father, which was a two-volume series entitled Lord Randolph Churchill. That same year, Churchill was elected to a two year term as Under Secretary of State for the Colonies.
In 1908, Churchill married Clementine Hozier and wrote My African Journey. Sir Winston Churchill and Clementine Hozier had 5 kids, one of which died in infancy. That same year, Churchill was elected to a two year term with the President of the Board of Trade. After his term expired in 1910 he was elected to Home Secretary for a year. In 1911, Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty until 1915.
In 1915 Churchill took the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for the next year. Churchill led a detachment to Antwerp, but the campaign failed and Churchill was made out to be responsible, seemingly ending his political career. Afterwards, Churchill left to fight with the French as Lieutenant-Colonel where he would command the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers. Sir Winston Churchill returned to Britain the next year as the Minister of Munitions.
In 1918, Sir Winston Churchill was appointed as the Secretary of State for War and Air until 1921. Afterwards, he became Secretary of State for Air and the Colonies for a year, and in 1922, Churchill became Secretary of State for the Colonies.
Churchill then set to work on his next project, a four-volume book of The World Crisis. In 1924, Churchill took the Chancellor of the Exchequer until his book was finished. After The World Crisis was finished, he began a book entitled My Early Life.
In 1931, Churchill published The Eastern Front before starting on his next book, which was named Thoughts and Adventures. After the book was completed in 1932, Churchill started on a four-volume series on Marlborough: His Life and Times, the last of which was published in 1938. Before he finished the book, Churchill published two others, the first in 1937 which was called Great Contemporaries, and the second of which was published the next year called Arms and the Covenant.
At the outbreak of World War II, Churchill became Britain’s main political figure, but still found the time to publish Step by Step before being elected as First Lord of the Admiralty for a year, allowing Churchill to decide British naval movements and tactics. Churchill was elected as Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, and the Minister of Defense.
In World War II, Churchill distinguished himself through speeches, and found ways to motivate the people despite circumstances. After the end of the Battle of Britain, Churchill thanked the Royal Air Force by uttering the immortal words, “Never have so many owed so much to so few.” Sir Winston Churchill was revered by his people, and managed to protect Britain and lead the nation on to victory.
Throughout the war years, Churchill published a number of books. In 1941, he published Into Battle. The next year The Unrelenting Struggle was released, followed by The End of the Beginning in 1943. Churchill published Onwards to Victory in 1944, and finished The Dawn of Liberation before the war ended.
After the war, Churchill was awarded the Order of Merit and was also elected to the Leader of the Opposition until 1951, during which time he published several books. In 1946, both Victory and Secret Session Speeches. He also wrote The Sinews of Peace, Painting as a Pastime, and began work on a six volume book on World War II. The books would be published with one a year, except in 1953, until 1954. During this time, Churchill was elected to a four-year term on October 26, 1951 and was made a Knight of the Garter in 1953. Later that year, Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature after writing Stemming the Tide. Churchill resigned as the Prime Minister on April 5, 1955, but remained seated in the House of Commons for a while longer.
As soon as he finished the The Second World War Series, Churchill began work on a four volume series on A History of English-Speaking Peoples. The year after completing the book, Churchill was elected to his last term with the House of Commons, and was made an honorary citizen of the United States.
The 90 year-old Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill died in London on January 24, 1965, and was buried near his birthplace of Blenheim Palace. With him died one of Britain’s most popular politicians, as well as one of the most talented writers. Sir Winston Churchill had written nearly 30 books, plus the separate volumes, and helped to guide his nation through the two major world wars of the 20th century. Sir Winston Churchill was also the first British citizen to become an honorary American Citizen.
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