Winston Churchill (Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill). Biography, photos, interesting facts

In the history of the twentieth century, those who took decisive decisions for humanity left a deep trail. Winston Churchill, the British prime minister, a writer, a Nobel laureate, one of the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition, an anti-communist, the author of many aphorisms that have become winged, a lover of cigars and strong drinks, and, in general, an interesting person, occupies his place in a number of outstanding politicians.

His image is known to our fellow citizens on documentary shots of the Second World War, made during the Yalta, Tehran and Potsdam conferences. On them among other participants of the "Big Three" attracts attention a full figure, covered with a military khaki jacket, an ugly but very charming face and an astute look. Such was the extraordinary Winston Churchill, books about which they write today, and still make films that reveal unfamiliar pages of his biography. Some moments remain a mystery today.

Birth and family

At the end of November 1874, at the Blenheim Palace, the Duke of Marlborough prepared for the ball. She certainly wished to attend Lady Churchill. She was dissuaded, but she was adamant, which led to some circumstances that tore off the party that had been invited. It so happened that Winston Churchill was born on a mountain of women's coats, hats and other outer clothing, piled in a room that served as guests improvised wardrobe.

Raising a redhead and not very beautiful child was mainly engaged in nurse Everest. The influence of this remarkable woman on the future politician was enormous, and his photograph he always kept in a prominent place in all the offices he occupied, evidently, until the end of his life, checking his actions with the moral guidelines that she had laid down. So expressed his gratitude to Winston Churchill, whose biography shows that the nurse was a right and wise person.

School, adolescence

Little Winston was not a child prodigy. Although he possessed excellent memory, but used it only when he was interested in the subject being studied. The diction of the boy was so-so, he did not pronounce some letters at all, but he was also verbose. He showed absolute indifference to the exact sciences, Greek and Latin, but he loved his native English and did it with pleasure.

A descendant of an aristocratic family and had to study at a special school. This was the privileged educational institution "Ascot", in which Winston Churchill spent several years. Then the young man was transferred to the high school "Harrow", also famous for its long traditions. Parents believed that the son of the stars from the sky did not suffice, and so it was, and therefore determined his military career. In the senior cavalry school of the royal army "Sandhurst" a young man could enter in 1893 only from the third time. Two years later his father died. For the son, the death of a beloved and respected parent became a great loss, despite a certain mutual misunderstanding. Childhood was over, the young man turned into an adult man.

The beginning of parliamentary activity

Having an active higher education, a military rank of lieutenant and a noble lineage, Winston Churchill, whose biography as politics was just beginning, won the parliamentary elections of 1900. Despite the fact that he was running for a conservative party, he was more sympathetic towards her opponents - the liberals. Such a contradiction was expressed in the fact that he himself defined his status as an "independent conservative", which created him many problems, but this line of behavior also had dignity. Conflicts with party members created a certain scandal, which contributed to greater fame in political circles. Due to the fact that during his speeches, many parliamentarians, and sometimes the Prime Minister himself, demonstratively left the meeting room, Winston Churchill was seen by Lloyd George. In 1904 he left the ranks of the Conservatives.

Minister for Colonies

The eloquence of the senator attracted attention to him, and proposals for cooperation with different constituencies were not slow to wait. Those that were not interesting to Churchill, he unconditionally swept aside, but in 1906 he agreed to become minister, who is in charge of the affairs of the colonies. The importance of the overseas territories for the welfare of the British Empire was enormous, and even then the patriotism of the politician, expressed in the priorities of the interests of the state over other considerations, was manifested. The results of the activity within a short time were very impressive, and efforts were noticed and evaluated at the highest level, including the environment of Edward VII and the monarch himself.

The political crisis of 1908 ended with the resignation of Premier Campbell Bannerman, whose place was soon occupied by Asquith. He invited Churchill to take up the Royal Navy, but was refused. War in the near future was not foreseen, and without it the post of Minister for the Navy did not promise glory. Regarding another post of the Minister of Self-Government, the reaction was the same, although for another reason, the topic was simply not interesting for Churchill. But he wanted to do business with trade, although at first glance it did not promise any political dividends.

Marriage

For a long time Winston Churchill was so busy with political affairs that his friends began to doubt that he would ever marry, but they were mistaken. Despite more than modest external data and a constant workload, he nevertheless found the opportunity to get acquainted with a very beautiful girl, to charm her (obviously, intellect and eloquence) and lead him to the crown. The daughter of a dragoon Colonel officer, Clementine Hosier, was charming, educated, intelligent, fluent in two foreign languages (German and French). Winston's selfish motives could not be suspected even by the owners of the most evil languages: the dowry was practically nonexistent, except, of course, the personal qualities of the bride and her noble Irish-Scottish descent.

Minister of Internal Affairs

At the age of thirty-five, Churchill became Minister of the Law and Order, taking up one of the key posts in the Empire. Now he had to answer for the police of the capital, bridges, roads, correctional facilities, agriculture and even fishing. Also, the duties of the Minister of the Interior, according to the old English tradition, included the indispensable presence during childbirth in the royal family, the proclamation of heirs to the throne, the writing of reports on the work of Parliament, which enabled Churchill to demonstrate his literary talents at the highest level. This he did with great pleasure.

On the eve of a big war

The fact that "cold" contradictions between countries rich in colonies and deprived by Germany and Austria-Hungary will sooner or later develop into a "hot" conflict, someone might have doubted, but not Winston Churchill. Based on intelligence and defense experts, he drafted a memorandum for the Prime Minister on military aspects in Europe, stating the practical inevitability of the forthcoming war. After that, the country's leadership undertook a kind of castling, exchanging the seats for McKenna and Churchill, as a result of which the author of the report received a fleet that he had previously refused. It was 1911, serious events were brewing. With the task of preparing Royal Navy for the coming naval battles, the new minister coped.

The First War

The timing of the onset of the military conflict was determined quite accurately by the British government. The usual naval maneuvers were abolished in 1914, the hidden partial mobilization was carried out, after the traditional parade on July 17, the ships were not sent to their permanent deployment sites, and by order of the Admiralty they retained their concentration. After the outbreak of the war between the central powers and Russia, Churchill took the responsibility to declare full mobilization of the fleet, without waiting for the government's decision. This step could cost him his dismissal, but everything turned out, the decision was recognized as correct, and the day after his actions were approved. On August 4, Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Postwar Life

The events of the First World War are well known: after the defeat of Germany and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before the world, and first of all before Europe, the problem of the spread of communism arose. The anti-Marxist position, which Winston Churchill took, his statements on this point testify to the conviction that the Bolshevik regime in Russia must be destroyed. But economically the countries of the West, exhausted by the four-year slaughter, were not ready for a large-scale military intervention. As a result of the impossibility of armed struggle against communism, the leaders of democratic Europe, and then of the whole world, were compelled to recognize Soviet power. The role of Churchill in the post of Minister of War by 1921 became secondary. It, certainly, it upset, but troubles were ahead. In the same year, he experienced real sorrows: first the death of his mother (and she was not old yet, just 67 years old), then her two-year-old daughter Maryhild.

Diligence and energy, as well as new work helped the spouses recover from the terrible double grief. Churchill again becomes Minister for Colonies, but the elections of 1922 end in a catastrophic way: he does not get into parliament. Churchill decides to have a little rest with his wife in France. It seemed that the career was over.

Back in Parliament

In the first half of the twenties, Churchill had an influential political enemy - Bonar Lowe, who held the post of prime minister. In 1923, he fell seriously ill and no longer recovered. With Baldwin, the new conservative leader, the disgraced politician managed to establish contact, but the first two attempts to return to parliament were unsuccessful. On the third occasion, he nevertheless returned to the reputable meeting, having won the elections from Epping County, and at the same time received the chair of the Minister of Finance. In 1929 the Laborites succeeded the Conservatives, and within a decade the active nature of Churchill had no opportunity for expression. He had to follow the developments in Germany, which by the mid-thirties was increasingly recovering economically and militarily, becoming a formidable rival for Britain.

Prewar expectations

Few British politicians understood the role of aviation in the coming war as deeply as Winston Churchill. Photos and newsreels that depict Neville Chamberlain, waving a treaty signed in Munich, document the complacency of the then European peacekeepers who made concessions to Nazi Germany in the second half of the thirties.

Meanwhile, in Britain, for about two years, a secret government committee was in charge of monitoring the strengthening of the state's defense capabilities. His member was Winston Churchill, whose statements on the prospects for pacifying Hitler were pessimistic. He was already distinguished by paradoxicality and non-standard thinking, arguing that, looking too far ahead, people act short-sightedly. Winston preferred to deal with pressing and pressing issues. In particular, thanks in large part to the efforts of the committee, the Royal Air Force received the Spitfire and Hurricane fighter aircraft capable of withstanding the Messerschmitt at the outset of the war.

Starry hour, second war with Germany

After an attack on Poland and declaring war on Germany in 1939, almost two years the United Kingdom fought against Hitlerism alone. The day of June 22, 1941 was a holiday for Churchill. Learning about the German attack on the USSR, he realized that the war can be considered won. Winston Churchill, whose biography was connected with the struggle against communism, did not want anything at that time as much as the success of the Red Army. Being in an extremely difficult economic situation, Britain provided military assistance to the USSR, delivering military cargo. The ability to sacrifice even their own convictions for the sake of saving their country is a sign of a true patriot and wise politician. However, this deviation in views was temporary and forced. Declared and demonstrated sympathy for the Soviets gave way to outright hostility even at the beginning of the "Big Three" conference in Potsdam.

During the war, strong-willed qualities manifest themselves most vividly. Winston Churchill was no exception. His biography in those years entered the brightest phase, he perfectly combined eloquence with the ability to resolve military-political and economic issues. His speech was difficult to call laconic, but in some of his verbosity the British found what they lacked: confidence in victory and cheerfulness of the spirit. However, one of his aphorisms expressed the view that silence is often a sign that a person simply has nothing to say. He also said somehow that only residents of Albion can rejoice that things are bad. There was no policy in the United Kingdom, which was as popular as Winston Churchill. Quotations from his speeches conveyed to each other suffering from bombing and privation residents of London and Coventry, Liverpool and Sheffield. They forced many to smile. It was the prime time of the prime minister.

After battle

The Second World War ended. Winston Churchill resigned at the end of May 1945, sharing with the conservative party its defeat in the next election. Well, this is the essence of Western democracy, for which even recent, but already meritorious services mean little. Winston Churchill's aphorisms concerning this form of government are distinguished by a special malice that reaches cynicism. So, he quite seriously argued that democracy is only good that all other ways of governing the country are even worse, and to be disappointed in it, it's enough just to talk a little with the "average voter".

However, the threat of what would become even worse in many countries was real after the war. Stalin's communism was moving along the planet, using a variety of methods - from power to subtle and insidious. The Cold War began immediately after the victory over fascism, but it was marked by a speech in the American city of Fulton, which in 1946, March 5, exactly seven years before the death of Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill said. Interesting facts and coincidences accompanied him all his life. Ambiguous was the attitude of the British politician to "Uncle Joe", as Western politicians nicknamed the Soviet leader Stalin. The hostility and rejection of Marxist ideas were combined in Churchill with genuine respect for the extraordinary personality of a man who at times was sometimes his ally or an adversary.

The attitude of the prime minister to alcohol is interesting. According to him, he got more from alcohol than he gave. In the elderly, Churchill joked that if he had not drunk before dinner in his youth, now he has another rule: never take hot drinks until breakfast. According to the recollections of his grandson, the grandfather began the day with a glass of whiskey (not such a small portion), but nobody saw him and never saw him drunk. Of course, such habits do not deserve to be imitated, but, as the Russian proverb says, you can not erase words from a song.

Interesting and literary works, which wrote Winston Churchill. The books tell of colonial wars, in particular, about the Afghan and Anglo-Boer campaigns, about the fight against world communism, and about many other historical events in which the author took part. The texts differ in excellent syllable and subtle humor peculiar to this extraordinary person.

Premier chair Churchill had to borrow twice. The last time he headed the British government in 1951 at the age of 77. Older years affected the general condition of the body, it became increasingly difficult for him to work. "Sir Winston Churchill" - since 1953, when young Elizabeth II - the new queen of England - awarded him the Order of the Garter, it was necessary to apply to the premiere. Great British laws do not provide for. He became a knight, and a higher social position is considered only a monarch.

Farewell, politics!

Covered with a veil of secrecy information about how to leave the big politics Winston Churchill. A brief biography, studied by British schoolchildren and students, contains information about the acceptance of his resignation without excessive hype in 1955. The removal from power took place gradually, for almost four months. The respect, respect and tact shown by the top leadership of the UK during this process deserve separate words. All life politics was devoted to the service of the fatherland and care for its interests, which was marked by many awards (both royal and foreign).

The great Churchill lived another ten years. A new era has dawned, a war began in far-away Vietnam, young people were crazy about their idols, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles conquered the world, the "children of flowers" -the hippies-preached universal love, and it all looked so unlike the secular- The political life of the beginning of the century, when young Winston began his long journey in politics.

An outstanding prime minister died in early 1965. A lavish, multi-day ceremony of farewell was not inferior to the solemnity of the royal funeral. His last rest, Churchill found next to his parents in an ordinary city cemetery in Blandon.