Home > Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor
Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor ( May 19, 1879 - May 2, 1964) was a socialite politician and a member of the prominent Astor family.
Born Nancy Witcher Langhorne, she was born in Danville, Virginia, United States, a daughter of Chiswell Dabney Langhorne , a sometime cotton broker, and his wife, Anne Witcher Keene . Her sister Irene Langhorne was the wife and model of the artist Charles Dana Gibson, creator of the Gibson Girl. One of her nieces, Joyce Grenfell was a noted British monologuist and actress, while another niece, Nancy Lancaster, became famous as a 20th-century tastemaker and the owner of the influential British decorating firm Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler .
She divorced her first husband, Robert Gould Shaw 2nd , then moved to England where in 1906, she married Waldorf Astor, son of William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor and grandson of John Jacob Astor III.
On the death of her father-in-law, her husband inherited the title Viscount Astor and she became Viscountess Astor. Her husband automatically became a member of the House of Lords and as a result of this appointment he was required to give up his seat in the House of CommonsIn a bicameral parliament of a Westminster System, the House of Commons has historically been the name of the elected lower house. The Commons generally holds much more power than the upper house (the senate or House of Lords). The leader of the majority as MP for Plymouth SuttonThis article is about Plymouth, England. For articles about other uses of Plymouth, see Plymouth (disambiguation). Plymouth (Latitude: 50°25N, Longitude: 4°5W) is a city and unitary authority in South West England, situated in the traditional county of De. Nancy Astor then became the Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party is the largest centre right political party in the United Kingdom. It is descended from the Tory Party and its members are still commonly referred to as Tories''. It votes with the European People's Party bloc in the European Parlia candidate in the required by-election. Elected on November 28November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 33 days remaining. Events 1095 On the last day of the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II appointed bishop Adhemar of Le Puy and Count Raymond IV of Toulous, 1919Events January January 1 Edsel Ford succeeds his father as head of the Ford Motor Company January 5 Spartacist uprising Socialist demonstrations in Berlin turn into attempted communist revolution with Spartacist League in the forefront January 9 Spartacus, in December she became the second woman elected, and the first to take a seat, in the House of Commons. She would be re-elected many times, serving until 1945. She attracted much attention as she was the first woman member to actually take her seat, since the first elected female member in 1918Events January January 8 President Woodrow Wilson announces his " Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I. February February 3 The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service in San Francisco as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long)., Constance Markiewicz, had chosen not to take her seat.
During the military buildup by Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler ( April 20, 1889 April 30, 1945) was the Fuhrer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers' Party and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. In that capacity he was Chancellor of Germany, head of government, and head of state, ruling as a in Germany in the 1930s, Nancy Astor recognized the vulnerability of the weak British military, believing that war would most certainly bring defeat. Her promotion of entente with Germany was seen by some as appeasement of Hitler and led to much criticism of her position. However, Nancy Astor was often fiercely critical of the Nazis, and her husband had protested to Hitler about his treatment of the Jews. In 1940 she urged Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to resign and supported Winston Churchill as his replacement. Her son David Astor, who became editor/owner of The Observer newspaper, would never forgive Claud Cockburn and his newssheet "The Week" for spreading lies about the "Cliveden Set."
Nancy Astor died at her home, Cliveden, in Berkshire, England, in 1964.
Astor, Nancy Astor, Viscountess
Astor, Nancy Astor, Viscountess
The Astors
