Personal
1874 | Born, 30 November, eldest son of Rt. Hon. Lord Randolph Churchill, 3rd son of 7th Duke of Marlborough, and Jennie Jerome. |
1888-93 | Attendance at Harrow School |
1893-94 | Cavalry cadet at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy |
1895 | Death of Lord Randolph Churchill, 24 January |
1904 | Moved from Conservative Party to Liberal Party, 31 May |
1907 | Became Privy Councillor, 1 May |
1908 | Married, 12 September, to Clementine, daughter of Sir Henry Hozier and Lady Blanche (née Ogilvy) |
1922 | Bought Chartwell Manor, Kent |
1924 | Returned to Conservative Party from Liberal Party |
1931 | Lecture tour in the United States |
1940-45 | Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister of Defence |
1946 | "Iron Curtain" Speech, Fulton, Missouri, 5 March |
1951-55 | Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury |
1953 | Awarded Nobel Prize for Literature |
1965 | Died, 24 January |
Military Career
1895 | Commissioned, 20 February, as Second Lieutenant, 4th Hussars. Served with Spanish forces in Cuba (1st Class [Spanish] Order of Military Merit) |
1897 | Malakand Field Force, 31st Punjab Infantry (despatches, medal with clasp) |
1898 | Orderly 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) |
1899-1900 | Acted 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). |
1900 | Retired from Regular Army |
1901 | Commissioned as Captain, Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars, Territorial Army |
1905 | April, Promoted Major, and appointed in command of the Henley Squadron of the Queens' Own Oxfordshire Hussars, Territorial Army |
1915-16 | Served western front with Grenadier Guards; appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding 6th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers, France (medals) |
September 1916 | Transferred to Territorial Reserves of Officers |
July 1924 | Awarded Territorial Decoration, resigned from Territorial Army |
Parliamentary Career
1899 | Contested Oldham (Conservative) |
1900-04 | MP for Oldham (Conservative) |
1904-06 | MP for Oldham (Liberal) |
1906-08 | MP for Manchester N.W. (Liberal) |
1908-22 | MP for Dundee (Liberal) |
1924-45 | MP for Epping Div. of Essex (Conservative) |
1945-64 | MP for Woodford (Conservative) |
Ministerial Offices
Dec 1905 - Apr 1908 | Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies |
Apr 1908 - Feb 1910 | President of the Board of Trade |
Feb 1910 - Oct 1911 | Home Secretary |
Oct 1911 - May 1915 | First Lord of the Admiralty |
May 1915 - Nov 1915 | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster |
Jul 1917 - Jan 1919 | Minister of Munitions |
Jan 1919 - Feb 1921 | Secretary of State for War (and Air till Apr 1921) |
Feb 1921 - Oct 1922 | Secretary of State for the Colonies |
Nov 1924 - Jun 1929 | Chancellor of the Exchequer |
Sep 1939 - May 1940 | First Lord of the Admiralty |
May 1940 - Jul 1945 | Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister of Defence |
Jul 1945 - Oct 1951 | Leader of the Opposition |
Oct 1951 - Apr 1955 | Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury (also Minister of Defence Oct 1951 - Jan 1952) |