Lady Margaret Thatcher has passed away from an apparent stroke at the age of 87. Here are nine things you should know about the former British Prime Minister.
2. Thatcher graduated from Oxford University in 1947 with a B.S. in Chemistry (specializing in X-ray crystallography), and worked as a research chemist before becoming involved in politics.
3. Thatcher helped develop soft-serve ice cream.
4. In 1970 Margaret Thatcher became Secretary of State for Education. In the post she stopped free milk for schoolchildren earning her the nickname ‘Thatcher, the Milk Snatcher.’
5. After a speech in 1976 in which she condemned Communism, a Soviet journalist dubbed her ‘The Iron Lady.’ She is said to have liked the nickname.
6. From 1993 to 2000, Thatcher served as chancellor of the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia.
7. On October 12, 1984, Thatcher narrowly escaped an IRA bombing assassination attempt at a Brighton hotel, in which five others were killed.
8. Ronald Reagan called her the “best man in England” and she called him “the second most important man in my life.”
9. Thatcher was brought up as a devout Methodist and remained a Christian throughout her life.
