Churchill's Cats
While many bits of trivia might be known about World War II-era British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, his love of felines isn't necessarily one of them. Nevertheless, he owned several cats and, during his later years, was particularly fond of Jock, who was a "ginger tom" (a "marmalade cat"). During his time as PM, his best-known cat was a grey called Nelson. During a dinner at the PM's country residence, Chequers, American war correspondent Quentin Reynolds noted Churchill as saying: "Nelson is the bravest cat I ever knew. I once saw him chase a huge dog out of the Admiralty. I decided to adopt him and name him after our great Admiral." During dinner, Reynolds noted, "When Mrs. Churchill was not looking, the Prime Minister sneaked pieces of salmon to Nelson." There were even rumors that Nelson sat in with his master during Cabinet meetings, and Churchill once told a colleague that Nelson was doing more than he was for the war effort.