On this day in 1965, Sir Winston Churchill passed away.

After leaving the premiership, Churchill spent less time in parliament until he stood down at the 1964 General Election. As a mere “back-bencher,” Churchill spent most of his retirement at Chartwell and at his home in Hyde Park Gate, in London. As his mental and physical faculties decayed, he began to lose the battle he had fought for so long against the “black dog” of depression. In 1963, US President John F. Kennedy, acting under authorisation granted by an Act of Congress, proclaimed him an Honorary Citizen of the United States, but he was unable to attend the White House ceremony. On 15 January 1965, Churchill suffered a severe stroke that left him gravely ill. He died at his home nine days later, at age 90, on the morning of Sunday 24 January 1965, coincidentally 70 years to the day after his father’s death.

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