Winston Churchill was born in Oxfordshire, England. After graduating from the Royal Military College, he served in the British army in Cuba, India, and South Africa. In 1900 Churchill was elected to Parliament. In 1906 he became under secretary of state for the colonies. He joined the cabinet in 1908. In 1911 Churchill took a position in the British navy. After World War I, Churchill served in several government positions. From 1929 to 1939 Churchill was not active in the government, but he did warn of Adolf Hitler’s growing power in Germany. During this period his political views became increasingly conservative. In 1939, after Great Britain declared war on Germany, Churchill was again named leader of the British navy. He became prime minister in 1940 and guided Britain through World War II. His party lost power in 1945. Although no longer prime minister, Churchill remained active as a politician and writer. In March 1946 in Fulton, Missouri, he made a speech in which he used the phrase “iron curtain” to describe the situation in Europe. Churchill returned as British prime minister in 1951 and served until 1955. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. Churchill wrote a biography of his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, and a biography of the Duke of Marlborough. He also published a history of World War I in four volumes under the title of The World Crisis (1923­29). His memoirs of World War II filled six volumes (1948­1953/54). In 1963 the U.S. Congress made him an honorary U.S. citizen.
