Sir Winston Churchill
(1874–1965)

Section from a portrait
by Yosef Karsh, 1941
Winston Churchill

Anecdote 1...

Churchill was no admirer of Sir Stafford Cripps, minister for aircraft production in Churchill's government during World War II. After the war, Cripps rejoined the Labour party. Churchill was standing with a friend in the House of Commons when Cripps walked by; Churchill pulled a face and remarked, "There but for the grace of God, goes God."


Anecdote 2...

Churchill had a poodle named Rufus. Rufus was so loved that he even ate in the dining room with the rest of the family. A cloth was laid for him on the Persian carpet beside the head of the household, and no one else ate until the butler had served Rufus's meal. One evening Churchill was watching the film Oliver Twist and Rufus, as usual, had the best seat in the house, on his master's lap. At the point when Bill Sikes was about to drown his dog to put the police off his track, Churchill covered Rufus's eyes with his hand. He said, "Don't look now, dear. I'll tell you about it afterwards."


Biographical Note...

British statesman. A direct descendant of the first Duke of Marlborough, Churchill served in the Boer War before being elected to Parliament in 1900. After holding various offices he became First Lord of the Admiralty (1911-15). From 1929 until the outbreak of World War II he was out of office. When World War II began, Churchill was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. In 1940 he replaced Neville Chamberlain as prime minister, becoming head of the coalition government. His remarkable powers of oratory and outstanding qualities as a leader made him the personification of British resistance to tyranny and a symbol of the free world's opposition to Nazi Germany's brutality.


More Information...

READ a short biography of Winston Churchill written by a student. (Don't miss the photo of him as a young military officer.) To learn more about the private side of Churchill, read Winston and Clementine: The Personal Letters of the Churchills, available online from Amazon.com. For transcripts of Churchill's speeches, visit The Churchill Center. Finally, Grolier's Encyclopedia has a very good, concise biography of Churchill HERE.