WINSTON SPENCER CHURCHILL 1874-1965

British statesman. A descendant of the Duke of Marlborough. He saw the
Boer war through as a journalist and later entered politics in 1900,
becoming Tory MP for Oldham. He later joined the Liberals and became
President of the Board of Trade. In 1910 he became Home Secretary and in
1911, First Lord of the Admiralty. In 1916, he saw front line action during
the First World War before returning to parliament. He was involved in the
controversy surrounding the Gallipoli expedition, one of series of major
political blunders he made throughout his career.

From 1918 to 1921 he was Secretary of State for War. As Chancellor of the
Exchequer he put Britain on the Gold Standard (again an economic
controversy) and was instrumental in smashing the General Strike of 1926.
He became PM in may 1940 after a year of war against Germany and pursued
a policy of "unconditional surrender", along with Roosevelt and Stalin
that ensured Germany had to fight it out to the end.

He was leader of the Opposition until 1951, when he again became Prime
Minister of Great Britian. Realising some of his wartime errors and the real
threat posed by Communist Russia, he made his famous "Iron Curtain" speech.
He retired from government in April 1955 and was buried at Bladon, near
Blenheim palace after his death in 1965.