ABSTRACT
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born on November 11, 1874, the son of Lord Randolf Churchill, and the grandson of the Duke of Marlborough. In the period before World War I, Churchill sponsored progressive legislation and served as undersecretary for the colonies. As first lord of the admiralty during World War I, his promotion of the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign of 1915 risked jeopardizing his reputation. When the Soviet Union and the United States entered the war in 1941 on Britain's side, Churchill helped lead the way to victory. He participated in several war conferences, including the Yalta Conference in early 1945, but losses by his Conservative Party in elections during the spring forced him to resign unexpectedly in the midst of the peace negotiations at Potsdam. Churchill's many years as a member of Parliament enabled him to influence legislation and governmental policy.
