Authors / Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill quotes

1874–1965 · British Prime Minister and writer

Churchill's wartime speeches are carefully recorded, which is lucky, because he is the second great magnet for fake quotes after Twain. The Churchill Project keeps its own list of things he never said.

3 real · 4 not theirs

Really theirs

3 quotes traced to Winston Churchill's own work or a reliable witness.

Sourced

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.

Source: First speech as Prime Minister, House of Commons (13 May 1940)

Sourced

We shall never surrender.

Source: "We shall fight on the beaches", House of Commons (4 June 1940)

Sourced

Democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

He introduced it with "it has been said that…" — he was quoting, not coining.

Source: House of Commons (11 November 1947)

Not theirs

4 famous lines credited to Winston Churchill that are misquoted, unsourced or belong to someone else.

Misquoted

Never, never, never give up.

The real words: At Harrow School (29 October 1941) he said: "never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small…"

Not theirs

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Actually: Quote Investigator found the earliest close version in a 1938 Budweiser advertisement.

Not theirs

If you're going through hell, keep going.

Actually: No evidence Churchill said or wrote it; the Churchill Project lists it as spurious.

Not theirs

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Actually: The Churchill Project lists it among things he never said.