Their Finest Hour

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was a prominent British politician, statesman, writer, and orator. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955. His first term largely coincided with WWII, and he played a key role in leading the country to victory. Even beyond his tenure as prime minister, Churchill had a long career in politics, serving as a member of Parliament for over 60 years and belonging at different points to the Liberal and Conservative Parties. He was First Lord of the Admiralty twice, first from 1911 to 1915 and later from 1939 to 1940. During his years at the post, he reformed the British navy and was thus partially responsible for its relative strength entering into WWII. Churchill was also a prolific writer and historian and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his literary works and speeches.

Despite being born into an aristocratic family, Churchill was in his early career a fervent supporter of workers’ rights, higher taxation of the wealthy, and the dissolution of the House of Lords, which he saw as an undemocratic body. As a member of the Liberal Party, he introduced eight-hour working days for miners, with a break for a meal, and stricter safety standards for the mines themselves.