A celebrated statesman, historian, and Nobel laureate, Winston Churchill is best remembered for his leadership as Britain's prime minister during World War II (1939-45). Born at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, Churchill was the son of Lord Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill (1849-1895), a prominent parliamentarian, and Jennie Jerome Churchill (1854- 1921), an American socialite. Churchill received his early education in private schools. An unexceptional student, he enrolled at the Royal Military Academy to prepare for a career as a military officer. Graduating with honors in 1894, he was appointed to the Fourth (Queen's Own) Hussars as a sublieutenant in 1895.

During the late 1890s, Churchill traveled to Cuba, India, and the Sudan to report on various military campaigns as a war correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph and the London Morning Post. His capture by Boer soldiers in 1899 and escape from a South African prison won him renown and...