November 30, 2012
WINSTON CHURCHILL BORN 148 YEARS AGO TODAY!
Oxfordshire, England (JFK+50) John F. Kennedy's hero, Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, was born at Blenheim Palace here in Oxfordshire 148 years ago today, November 30, 1874.
Winston was the son of Lord Randolph Churchill & the American socialite, Jennie Jerome.
Lord Randolph's father, John Strange Spencer-Churchill, was the 7th Duke of Marlborough.
Winston Churchill (1911)
Imperial War Museum Image
Winston Churchill was 1st educated by a governess in Dublin, Ireland but later had a poor academic record in school. WC graduated from Royal Military College.
In 1904, WC married Clementine Hozier.
After a short service in the military, WC was elected to Parliament in 1900 & became the 1st Lord of the Admirality in 1911 & served in that capacity again in 1939.
In May 1940, WC became PM & served until 1955. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
Known for his great oratory, WC said he wrote every word of his speeches & spent an hour working on one minute of a speech.
In 1963, President Kennedy said:
"In the dark days...when England stood alone...he mobilized the English language & sent it into battle."
One of the most quoted Churchill lines is:
"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty & so bear ourselves that if the British Empire & its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say "This was their finest hour.'"
