Winston Churchill, whose resolute leadership and combative spirit rallied Britain when it stood against Nazi Germany in some of the darkest days of World War II, was born in Oxfordshire, England, on this day in history, Nov. 30, 1874.
Churchill was thrown into a cauldron of global warfare, also battling Imperial Japan in Asia, and thrived under the pressure of statesmanship in the defense of democracy.
He assumed the role of British prime minister on May 10, 1940, replacing ineffective Neville Chamberlain, the same day that Hitler launched his new mechanized blitzkrieg war machine on a frightening offensive across Western Europe.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, NOVEMBER 29, 1832, ‘LITTLE WOMEN’ AUTHOR LOUISA MAY ALCOTT IS BORN IN PHILADELPHIA
Netherlands, Belgium and France all collapsed within six weeks.
Churchill’s fearless reaction, as England sat in the crosshairs of an expected invasion, still steels the spirit and inspires determination today.
From left to right, Princess Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, King George VI and Princess Margaret of Great Britain wave to crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during VE Day celebrations on May 8, 1945. (AP)
“We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,” Churchill announced to the British people before Parliament on June 4, 1940, just three weeks into his leadership.
“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.”
Churchill, based largely on his World War II leadership, topped the list of 100 Greatest Britons of all time in a 2002 BBC poll, ahead of a formidable collection of influential global icons.
Despite being the definitive Briton, Churchill was half American.
The Top 10 included Charles Darwin, William Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, Queen Elizabeth I and John Lennon.
“If Britain — its eccentricity, its big heartedness, its strength of…