The Library of CongressExhibitionsChurchill Exhibition
Churchill and the Great Republic
Interactive Exhibition About the Exhibition Read More About It Acknowledgements Text Version
INTRODUCTION
TIMELINE
THEMES
  Forebears and Family
Warrior for Empire
Visits to America
American Presidents
The Communicator
The Politician
World War II
Cold Warrior
The Long Sunset
OBJECTS
The Long Sunset
Long Sunset
The final decade of Churchill's life has been described as a "long sunset." He continued to be feted and honored, and he enjoyed a final visit to the White House in 1959. During this period he published his last great work, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. In Britain, he established Churchill College, Cambridge. On April 9, 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed a Congressionally authorized proclamation conferring honorary U.S. citizenship upon Churchill. Too frail to travel to America to attend the ceremony, Churchill watched from England via live satellite broadcast. He became the second person after Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette to receive honorary U.S. citizenship.
Related Objects
Toni Frissell. Winston, Randolph, and Winston Churchill, 1953
President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Sir Winston Churchill, May 12, 1958
President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Sir Winston Churchill, March 22, 1955
His Truth is Marching On
Sir Winston Churchill died on January 24, 1965, seventy years to the day after the death of his father. He received a state funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral and, in recognition of his American ties, the congregation rose to sing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Churchill is buried with his parents in the small village churchyard at Bladon, within sight of Blenheim Palace, the place where his remarkable life had begun ninety years earlier.
Related Objects
The Order of Service for the Funeral of The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill K.G., O.M., C.H., 1965
Bill Mauldin. Lion shedding a tear, 1965
The Library of CongressExhibitionsChurchill Exhibition