Born November 30,
1874 at
Blenheim palace, Churchill is frequently regarded as Britain's greatest
prime minister of the 20th century.
As a very short biography (won't go into it too much 'cause it's not interesting and can be found at other locations like Encarta) he was prime minister twice (1940-1945 and 1951-1955) and he once won the Nobel prize for literature in 1953. Churchill died aged 90 in 1964.
What I am going to concentrate this article on is Churchill's speeches, writings and alleged quotes as many are powerful, some witty but above all - most are interesting:
First of all there are his war speeches with quotes such as:
- "Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour." - Speech delivered soon after the collapse of France.
- "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." - During speech referring to the efforts of the seriously undermanned RAF in the Battle of Britain (this is often regarded as a major turning point in WW2)
- "We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!" - Speech delivered in June 1940 after a swift evacuation of British troops from France.
And then there are his lesser known witticisms...
-
Lady Astor: "Winston, if I were your wife I'd put poison in your coffee."
Winston: "Nancy, if I were your husband I'd drink it."
- Unknown woman: "Winston, you appear to be drunk!"
Winston: "And you my dear are ugly but tomorrow I'll be sober"
- Winston: "Madam, Would you sleep with me for 1m Pounds?"
Unknown woman: "Yes sir, I think i would"
Winston: "Well, how about 1 Pound?"
Unknown woman: "Winston! What sort of woman do you think i am?"
Winston: "Madam, that matter has already been solved. Now we're just bartering over your price."