▲The miners' strike of 1984–85 pitched the Thatcher government against Arthur Scargill of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The often violent industrial action saw running battles between police and striking miners.

▲In the 1950 and 1951 general elections she stood as a Conservative candidate for Dartford, but lost her parliamentary bid on both occasions.

▲The couple had two children, Mark and Carol.

▲From 1970 to 1974, she served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for the Education and Science under Prime Minister Edward Heath.

▲In 1976 during a speech, Thatcher lambasted the Soviet Union. As a result, the Communist press called her an "Iron Lady." The name stuck! Years later, relations between the UK and the USSR thawed. She's pictured in the 1980s with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

▲In 1979, she led the Conservative Party to victory in the general election, becoming the first woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

▲The Conservatives were elected for a third successive term in June 1987. Still sitting as premier, Thatcher was to become the longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century.

▲In 1989, Thatcher introduced the poll tax, a single flat-rate per-capita tax levied on every adult. It proved hugely unpopular and prompted people across the UK to take to the streets in sometimes violent protest. Thatcher began to lose grass roots popularity, and eventually lost the confidence of her Cabinet.

▲Despite her fall from grace, Margaret Thatcher remained active on the world stage. In 1991, she received the US Medal of Freedom, awarded by the President of the United States, George H.W. Bush.

▲In 1992, she was honored by Queen Elizabeth II with the title of Baroness. In fact, her official title was Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven. This afforded her a seat in the House of Lords.

▲After suffering several small strokes, she took her doctors' advice and retired from public life in 2002.

▲In 2004, she attended former US President Ronald Reagan's funeral. Thatcher commented that she'd lost a close friend.

▲In the same year, South African police arrested Thatcher's son Mark on allegations that he was involved in a plot to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea.

▲Confirming what many had suspected, Carol Thatcher (pictured) made public in 2005 that her mother was suffering from dementia.

▲But a now increasingly frail Thatcher continued to suffer from health issues. She's seen waving to journalists after a visit to the hospital.

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Thatcher's ashes were interred in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, next to those of her husband.

▲Hollywood paid its own tribute to the former prime minister by releasing 'The Iron Lady' (2011), starring Meryl Streep (pictured in a scene from the movie) in the title role. Streep would go on to win the Oscar for Best Actress.

▲In 1975, Thatcher was elected Conservative Party leader and Leader of the Opposition (Labour was in power at the time).

▲In 1984, Thatcher narrowly escaped an assassination attempt after the IRA bombed the hotel she was staying in during the Conservative Party's annual conference in Brighton.

▲Throughout her premiership, Thatcher maintained a special relationship with the United States and President Ronald Reagan. They became close friends.

▲The Iron Lady suffered a personal loss with the death of husband Dennis in June 2003. They had been married for almost 52 years.

▲In 1951, Margaret married Dennis Thatcher.

▲The future British prime minister was born Margaret Hilda Roberts in 1925 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, eastern England.

▲Margaret Thatcher passed away on April 8, 2013, aged 87. Pictured: the coffin resting in the Crypt Chapel of St Mary Undercroft beneath the Houses of Parliament on the eve of her funeral on April 16.

▲In the general election of 1959, Margaret Thatcher was elected as a Member of Parliament for Finchley.

▲In 1983, Thatcher was reelected as Prime Minister, with the Conservatives winning a decisive victory. She's pictured outside 10 Downing Street with husband Dennis.

▲In 1990, after a challenge to her leadership and much in-fighting within the Conservative Party, the Iron Lady stepped down as prime minister. She's pictured leaving Buckingham Palace after tending her resignation to the Queen.

▲The funeral cortege carrying the coffin of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher arrives at St Paul's Cathedral, London.

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Her birthplace was here, above a grocer's store owned by her father.

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She studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, and worked briefly as a research chemist, before becoming a barrister.

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Her leadership was soon tested. In April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. Thatcher authorized and dispatched a naval task force to retake the islands. The military conflict lasted 10 weeks and ended with the surrender of the Argentine forces.

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In 2008, Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron presented Thatcher with a lifetime achievement award at a 2008 Great Britons award ceremony.

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The first woman to become prime minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher served three terms as premier, from 1979 to 1990. Throughout her tenure, the Conservative politician lambasted the Soviet Union, survived an audacious assassination attempt, implemented policies known as Thatcherism, and took on trade unions in often bitter and protracted industrial disputes. Not for nothing was she known as the "Iron Lady."

Browse the following gallery for an appreciation of one of Britain's most celebrated—and controversial—political leaders of recent years.