Sir Winston Churchill: A chronology

Personal

1874Born, 30 November, eldest son of Rt. Hon. Lord Randolph Churchill, 3rd son of 7th Duke of Marlborough, and Jennie Jerome.
1888-93Attendance at Harrow School
1893-94Cavalry cadet at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy
1895Death of Lord Randolph Churchill, 24 January
1904Moved from Conservative Party to Liberal Party, 31 May
1907Became Privy Councillor, 1 May
1908Married, 12 September, to Clementine, daughter of Sir Henry Hozier and Lady Blanche (née Ogilvy)
1922Bought Chartwell Manor, Kent
1924Returned to Conservative Party from Liberal Party
1931Lecture tour in the United States
1940-45Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister of Defence
1946"Iron Curtain" Speech, Fulton, Missouri, 5 March
1951-55Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury
1953Awarded Nobel Prize for Literature
1965Died, 24 January

Military Career

1895Commissioned, 20 February, as Second Lieutenant, 4th Hussars. Served with Spanish forces in Cuba (1st Class [Spanish] Order of Military Merit)
1897Malakand Field Force, 31st Punjab Infantry (despatches, medal with clasp)
1898Orderly officer to Sir W. Lockhart with Tirah Expeditionary Force (clasp). Served, attached 21st Lancers with Nile Expeditionary force, present at Battle of Khartoum (medal, with clasp)
1899-1900Acted as correspondent Morning Post South Africa; taken prisoner, but escaped; served as Lieutenant South African Light Horse; present at actions of Acton Homes, Venter's Spruit, Hussar Hill, Cingolo, Monte Cristo, and at battles of Spion Kop, Vaal Krantz, and Pieters, and at engagements of Johannesburg and Diamond Hill, and capture of Pretoria (medal with six clasps).
1900Retired from Regular Army
1901Commissioned as Captain, Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars, Territorial Army
1905April, Promoted Major, and appointed in command of the Henley Squadron of the Queens' Own Oxfordshire Hussars, Territorial Army
1915-16Served western front with Grenadier Guards; appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding 6th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers, France (medals)
September 1916Transferred to Territorial Reserves of Officers
July 1924Awarded Territorial Decoration, resigned from Territorial Army

Parliamentary Career

1899Contested Oldham (Conservative)
1900-04MP for Oldham (Conservative)
1904-06MP for Oldham (Liberal)
1906-08
MP for Manchester N.W. (Liberal)
1908-22MP for Dundee (Liberal)
1924-45MP for Epping Div. of Essex (Conservative)
1945-64MP for Woodford (Conservative)

Ministerial Offices

Dec 1905 - Apr 1908Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies
Apr 1908 - Feb 1910President of the Board of Trade
Feb 1910 - Oct 1911Home Secretary
Oct 1911 - May 1915First Lord of the Admiralty
May 1915 - Nov 1915Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Jul 1917 - Jan 1919Minister of Munitions
Jan 1919 - Feb 1921Secretary of State for War (and Air till Apr 1921)
Feb 1921 - Oct 1922Secretary of State for the Colonies
Nov 1924 - Jun 1929Chancellor of the Exchequer
Sep 1939 - May 1940First Lord of the Admiralty
May 1940 - Jul 1945Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister of Defence
Jul 1945 - Oct 1951Leader of the Opposition
Oct 1951 - Apr 1955Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury (also Minister of Defence Oct 1951 - Jan 1952)