Winston Churchill – Man of the 20th Century – Lists Those He Considers the Greatest Men of All Time

He also gives the reasons for their inclusion, such as “Mahomet – Splendid action, the counter-drive to Christianity” and “Cicero – Greatest all-around Roman”

 

We have never before seen a choice of great men put together and approved by Churchill, linking him to Washington, Caesar, Napoleon, Newton, Buddha, Charlemagne, and Aristotle, among others

Winston Churchill’s main source of income was not his salary as a Member of Parliament, but as an author. He was a journalist as early as the mid-1890s, and then reported from captivity during the Boer War. As a serving MP he began publishing pamphlets containing his speeches or answers to key parliamentary questions. Beginning with Mr Winston Churchill on the Education Bill (1902), over 135 such tracts were published over his career. He wrote 43 book length works in 72 volumes, including his 6-volume history of the Second World War. His first book was printed in 1898, and the last in 1958, a remarkable span of 60 years. Four of the works were fiction, showing the breadth of his writing genius. There were 28 books published containing collections of his speeches. He also wrote some 10,000 articles for newspapers and magazines over a period of decades on a broad variety of subjects.

In many cases, these newspaper articles were for-hire, commissioned by such publications as Colliers, News of the World, the Daily Mail, and the Sunday Dispatch. The News of the World was so fond of his work that from 1936 and 1939, they paid him £400 for article, which would be £12,000 (or over $15,000 ) in today’s money. Quite a sum to pay a columnist during the Depression, and enough to keep Churchill in his Pol Roger champagne and Romeo y Julieta brand cigars. Major Percy Davies was director of the News of the World, and Sir Emsley Carr was the editor in the 1930s. When Carr died in 1941 Davies ascended to the editorial position. It was with these men that Churchill dealt.

In early 1936, and ending in April of that year, Churchill contracted to write a series on “Great Men I Have Known”, and he the News of the World executives discussed subjects. Articles were written by Churchill on Lord Kitchener of Khartoum, Admiral Fisher of World War I note, King George V, General Sir John French, General Douglas Haig who was the senior British commander during World War I, Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, Lord Curzon, Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and Georges Clemenceau, among others.

In April Churchill wrote Davies with another idea, a way to continue and expand the concept. His new idea: “Great Men of All Time,” and included a list of proposed subjects.

Typed letter signed, on his Westminster letterhead, April 7, 1936, to Davies. “I see that our series has come to an end, and I should like to know whether your readers were pleased with it. I have had a good many pleasant letters, and have heard much friendly comment. I hope it has been
satisfactory from the point of view of circulation.

“I now send you a list of suggested figures for ‘Great Men of All Time’ which it was proposed I should complete before the end of this year. If you would pick a dozen of these names or put them in order and add any that occur to you, I would then make you a further suggestion and we could finally decide.”
This list is appended to the cover letter.

The list Churchill sent contained 27 names, and in 25 cases gave fascinating and insightful reasons the men were chosen. Here is Churchill’s list of the “Great Men of All Time”. It is of real importance to discover who the Man of the 20th Century (Churchill) thought were the greatest men of other ages.

Here is Churchill’s list: “Confusius – Explains China; Buddha – At the root of the Oriental; Mahomet – Splendid action, the counter-drive to Christianity; St. Patrick – Action and leadership. The symbol of Ireland’s action of the world for 1,500 years; St. Francis – The most influential of Saints. The 13th century incarnate; Julius Caesar, Hadrian – Action and Statecraft, and Marcus Aurelius – Power and Philosophy; Plato and Aristotle – Every man since has been either a Platonist or Aristotelian in thought; Alcibiades and Alexander – Great Greeks; Cicero – Greatest all-around Roman. Law – orator – letters; Demosthenes – Invented the demagogue; Soloman and St. Paul – Biblical contrasts; Homer and Moses – Mythic but influential. One on all literature and the other on religion; Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo – Renaissance artists as great as the Greeks; Sir Isaac Newton and Darwin – Science; Charlesmagne and Pope Innocent III – Middle Ages; Benjamin Franklin and Washington – America; and Napoleon, who seemed to need no justification.

A letter of true historic importance, linking Churchill with Washington, Caesar, Napoleon, Newton, Buddha, Charlemagne, and Aristotle, among others