Courtesy of Library of Congress
Winston Churchill earned the distinction of being the only foreign leader to address Congress three times. As British Prime Minister he addressed Congress in 1941, 1943 (pictured), and 1952.
On this date, Prime Minister
Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress in the House Chamber. The occasion marked the third time that Churchill spoke before Congress—more than any other foreign dignitary in congressional history at that time. Churchill, who had coined the cold war term “Iron Curtain” to describe the Soviet Union’s grasp on Eastern Europe, implored Congress to support Western European re-armament in the face of Moscow’s continued threat to the continent. He believed the Anglo-American alliance was the keystone to the defense of democracies worldwide. “Bismarck once said that the supreme fact of the 19th century was that Britain and the United States spoke the same language,” Churchill told the assembled Representatives and Senators. “Let us make sure that the supreme fact of the 20th century is that they tread the same path.”
