Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill is best remembered as the Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II. He served his country in a variety of ways, holding many high offices of state under four different prime ministers, as a member of Parliament for more than 60 years, and for serving two terms as prime minister. He was born at Blenheim Palace on November 30, 1874, and educated at Harrow and Sandhurst. His military service included periods spent in Cuba, India, the Sudan, and in France during World War I. Churchill's writing career began with pieces written for British newspapers while in the military. Some of his most famous works include Marlborough, a four-volume biography… of his ancestor, the 1st Duke of Marlborough; The World Crisis, a four-volume history of World War I; The Second World War, a six-volume history; and A History of the English Speaking Peoples, a six-volume work was completed toward the end of his life. In 1953, Churchill received the Nobel Prize for Literature, in recognition of his extensive writing as well as for his speeches throughout a long, distinguished career as a statesman. That same year, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill died on January 24, 1965, at the age of 70.
John Keegan, May 15, 1934 - August 2, 2012 John Keegan was born in London, England on May 15, 1934. He received a degree in history from Balliol College, Oxford in 1953. After graduation, he went to the United States on a grant to study the Civil War. When he returned to London, he wrote political reports for the United States Embassy and in 1960 was appointed as a lecturer at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, England, a post he held for 25 years. During this time he also held visiting professorships at Princeton University and Vassar College. In 1997, he began working for the Daily Telegraph as a defense correspondent and then military affairs editor. He also contributed to the… American website National Review Online. During his lifetime, he wrote more than 20 books about military history, the majority of which focus on warfare from the 14th to the 21st centuries. His works included Barbarossa: Invasion of Russia, The Face of Battle, A History of Warfare, Who Was Who in World War II, The Second World War, The American Civil War, The Mask of Command, and The Iraq War. He was knighted in 2000. He died on August 2, 2012 at age of 78.