WINSTON CHURCHILL (1874–1965) was a British statesman, army officer, and writer, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Named the Greatest Briton of all time in a 2002 poll, Churchill is among the most influential people in British history. As Prime Minister, Churchill led Britain to victory during the Second World War. His citation upon receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 reads, "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values".