Winston Churchill: Early and Journalist Years
(Birth - Age 29)
by Ron Kurtus (revised 6 February 2006)
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was a fascinating British politician, author
and orator. His achievements started when he was a journalist while in his 20s
as, continued when he was a politician during his 30s and 40s, and
reached their peak when he became the Prime Minister of
the United Kingdom during the Second
World War while in his 60s. He is regarded as the greatest British
leader of the 20th Century.
Questions you may have include:
What achievements did he make in his first 29 years?
What were his special characteristics?
What lessons can we learn from his life, achievements and disappointments?
This lesson will answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz
near the end of the lesson.
Birth to 19 years (1874 - 1893)
Winston Churchill's parents were too busy for him after he was born, and
he spent his early years in school rebelling. He also vowed to be tough,
which resulted in almost getting killed.
1874: Born to prominent family
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born 2 months premature on November
30, 1874 to Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill, at Blenheim Palace, the family's
ancestral seat in Oxfordshire. Churchill's ancestry went back to the great
English general John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, in the 17th
century.
He was the oldest son of Lord Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill, a British
statesman who rose to be Chancellor of the Exchequer and leader of the House
of Commons. His mother was an American, Jennie Jerome, the daughter of a
New York financier.
Parents too busy for him
After his birth, Winston wasn't fed by his mother and was turned over to
a wet nurse. His mother, Lady Randolph, was too busy with the fashionable
social life to have much time for her baby. Lord Randolph was also too deeply
involved in politics, as a Conservative leader, to show more than a passing
interest in the boy.
Winston was raised by a Mrs. Everest, a nanny hired shortly after his birth.
All the love and affection Winston received came from his nanny. He kept
a picture of her in his bedroom until the day he died.
Young Winston
1882: Hated prep school
Young Winston attended Harrow School, on the outskirts of London, where
he was schooled in the classics. He hated most of his school time at Harrow
and had little interest in learning Latin, Greek or mathematics. But he
did love poetry, history and writing English essays.
Winston was short in stature and very headstrong and stubborn. During
his early school years, Churchill didn't get along well with other students.
He recalled how he had to hide behind a tree when some other boys threw
cricket balls at him. After this experience, he vowed to be as tough as
anybody could be. He also practiced making fierce expressions to try to
scare his opponents.
He later entered the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, from which he
graduated with honors.
1892: Nearly died
When he was 18 in 1892, he nearly killed himself by jumping from a bridge to
avoid being caught by his cousin and brother who were chasing him. He fell 29
feet, ruptured a kidney, was unconscious for 3 days and unable to work for
nearly 2 months.
Ages 20 - 29 years (1894 - 1903)
As an adult, Churchill stood 5' 6 1/2" tall. He had an exciting life
while in his 20s. He was an army officer, a journalist, an author of five
books, a war hero and politician. These achievements gave indication that
he was destined for greatness.
1894: Commissioned in army
In 1894, when he was 20 years old, Winston's father died. Shortly afterwards,
Churchill was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars,
a regiment of the British army.
1895: Wrote for newspaper
As he turned 21, Churchill spent his first military leave on assignment
for a London newspaper. He traveled to Cuba in order to accompany the Spanish
army, which was then attempting to stop a rebellion. This seems to be quite
a good assignment for a 21-year old. Churchill's writing ability must have
impressed the newspaper publisher. His family connections also probably
played a part in the assignment.
Later, after his regiment was sent to India in 1896, he secured a temporary
transfer to the turbulent North-West Frontier, where a tribal insurrection
was under way.
1896: Had books published
At age 22 in 1896, the Churchill compiled the dispatches he wrote for the Daily
Telegraph newspaper into his first book, The Story of the Malakand
Field Force. It seems somewhat unusual for an army lieutenant to be
reporting to a newspaper while on duty, unless it was his military job or
some "special" arrangements were made to allow him to do this.
1897
When he was 23, Churchill went to Egypt attached to the 21st Lancers and
took part in the re-conquest of the Sudan. During the Battle of Omdurman,
Churchill participated in one of the last cavalry charges in British military
history.
1898
The next year, Churchill again wrote a book based on his newspaper dispatches.
The River War was the most substantial work he wrote before entering
Parliament.
Resigned commission
That year he resigned his army commission so that he could independently
pursue his career in journalism without having to apply for transfers or
military assignments. He also wanted to go into politics and at 24 ran for
a seat in Parliament as a Conservative candidate. He was not elected.
Captured while covering war
Winston then went to South Africa to cover the Boer War as a journalist.
The war had just broken out between Britain and the Boers, descendants of
Dutch settlers. He was captured by the Boers and imprisoned. He managed
to escape from prison and took the railroad into Portuguese East Africa.
This feat made him a national hero.
1899: Wrote 2 more books
In 1899, when he was 25, Churchill returned to South Africa to write about the
war. His newspaper dispatches were reprinted in two books, London to Ladysmith
via Pretoria and Ian Hamilton's March.
1900: Elected to the House of Commons
When Churchill returned to England in 1900, his South African exploits
had made him famous, and he was elected to the House of Commons. Though
he was a Conservative, he criticized military spending and supported free
trade. This soon resulted in a conflict with the Conservative leadership,
who supported large military budgets and protective tariffs.
Churchill also continued writing. His political ambition was evident in
his sole novel, Savrola which was published in 1900. In the book,
the hero leads a democratic revolution in an imaginary country in the Balkans,
only to see the revolution escape from his control.
1903
In 1903, at age 29, he changed political parties to take a seat with the Liberal Party.
Summary
In his first 29 years, Winston Churchill developed into a
prolific journalist and writer, as well as an adventurer. His family connections
probably were a large factor in getting good military assignments, be he
still showed the talent and rive to succeed at what he did on his own merits.
1. Why didn't Winston get along with others in school?
2. What did Churchill do for the newspapers?
3. What brought Churchill into the public eye?
If you got all three correct, you are on your way to becoming a Champion
in understanding the Biographies of famous people. If you had problems, you had better look
over the material again.
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