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Winston Churchill Didn't Exist
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History; Posted on: 2008-02-10 00:29:16 [ Printer friendly / Instant flyer ]
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Say 20% of UK teens
By Aislinn Simpson
Classroom Shame
A fifth of British teenagers believe Sir Winston Churchill was a fictional character, while many think Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur and Eleanor Rigby were real, a survey shows.
The canvass of 3,000 under twenties uncovered an extraordinary paucity of basic historical knowledge that older generations take for granted.
Despite his celebrated military reputation, 47 per cent of respondents dismissed the 12th-century crusading English king Richard the Lionheart as fictional.
More than a quarter (27 per cent) thought Florence Nightingale, the pioneering nurse who coaxed injured soldiers back to health in the Crimean War, was a mythical figure.
In contrast, a series of fictitious characters that have featured in British films and literature over the past few centuries were awarded real life status.
King Arthur is the mythical figure most commonly mistaken for fact. Almost two thirds of teens (65 per cent) believe that he existed and led a round table of knights at Camelot.
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News Source: telegraph
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