A Person I Admire
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill
, (30 November 1874 24 January 1965) was a Britishpolitician andstatesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He iswidely regarded as one of the great wartime leaders and served asPrime Minister twice (194045 and 195155). A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, ahistorian, a writer, and an artist. To date, he is the only British prime minister to have received the NobelPrize in Literature, and he was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States.Churchill was born into the aristocratic family of the Dukes of Marlborough. His father, Lord RandolphChurchill, was a charismatic politician who served asChancellor of the Exchequer; his mother, JennyJerome, an American socialite. As a young army officer, he saw action in British India, the Sudan andtheSecond Boer War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and through books he wrote about hiscampaigns.At the forefront of politics for fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. BeforeWorld War I, he served as President of the Board of Trade,Home Secretary and First Lord of theAdmiralty as part of the Asquith Liberal government. During the war, he continued as First Lord of theAdmiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign, which he had sponsored, caused his departure fromgovernment. He then served briefly on the Western Front, commanding the 6th Battalion of the RoyalScots Fusiliers. He returned to government as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War,and Secretary of State for Air. After the War, Churchill served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in theConservative (Baldwin) government of 192429, controversially returning the pound sterling in 1925 tothe gold standard at its pre-War parity, a move widely seen as creating deflationary pressure on the UKeconomy. Also controversial were Churchill's opposition to increased home rule for India, and hisresistance to
, (30 November 1874 24 January 1965) was a Britishpolitician andstatesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He iswidely regarded as one of the great wartime leaders and served asPrime Minister twice (194045 and 195155). A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, ahistorian, a writer, and an artist. To date, he is the only British prime minister to have received the NobelPrize in Literature, and he was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States.Churchill was born into the aristocratic family of the Dukes of Marlborough. His father, Lord RandolphChurchill, was a charismatic politician who served asChancellor of the Exchequer; his mother, JennyJerome, an American socialite. As a young army officer, he saw action in British India, the Sudan andtheSecond Boer War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and through books he wrote about hiscampaigns.At the forefront of politics for fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. BeforeWorld War I, he served as President of the Board of Trade,Home Secretary and First Lord of theAdmiralty as part of the Asquith Liberal government. During the war, he continued as First Lord of theAdmiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign, which he had sponsored, caused his departure fromgovernment. He then served briefly on the Western Front, commanding the 6th Battalion of the RoyalScots Fusiliers. He returned to government as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War,and Secretary of State for Air. After the War, Churchill served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in theConservative (Baldwin) government of 192429, controversially returning the pound sterling in 1925 tothe gold standard at its pre-War parity, a move widely seen as creating deflationary pressure on the UKeconomy. Also controversial were Churchill's opposition to increased home rule for India, and hisresistance to