Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Sir John Jacob "Jakie" Astor VII, (29 August 1918 – 10 September 2000) was an English politician and sportsman. He was a member of the prominent

Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settle ...

Early life

John Jacob Astor VII (Jakie) was born 29 August 1918, the youngest of the four sons of

Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, DL (19 May 1879 – 30 September 1952) was an American-born English politician and newspaper proprietor. He was a member of the Astor family. He was active in minor political roles. He was devoted to charitab ...

and

Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

(1878–1964). His mother was the first woman elected to Parliament to take her seat in Parliament. His siblings include

Robert Gould Shaw III Robert Gould Shaw III (18 August 1898 – 10 July 1970) was an American-born English socialite. He was the only child of Nancy Witcher Langhorne and Robert Gould Shaw II, a landowner and socialite. After his parents' divorce in 1903, he moved ...

(1898–1970), his half-brother from his mother's first marriage, William Waldorf Astor II (1907–1966), Nancy Phyllis Louise Astor (1909–1975), Francis David Langhorne Astor (1912–2001), and

Michael Langhorne Astor The Hon. Michael Langhorne Astor (10 April 1916 – 28 February 1980) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. Early life Michael Astor was born on 10 April 1916. He was the fourth child of Waldorf Astor, 2nd Visco ...

(1916–1980). He was named after his relative

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He died in the sink ...

, who perished on the

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

in 1912.

Career

Education and military service

Educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and New College,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Astor then served in the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

and the Life Guards during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Public service

In 1945, Astor contested the

Plymouth Sutton Plymouth, Sutton was, from 1918 until 2010, a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. History Pl ...

seat in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

that had been held by both his parents. Unsuccessful at first, he won the seat in 1951 as a member of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. From 1960 to 1974, he held the office of

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

. In 1967, he was appointed

High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Below is a list of High Sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely since the creation of that county in 1965 until its abolition in 1974: *Before 1965 see Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire *1965–1966: Francis Wingate William Pember ...

, serving until 1968.

Later career

Astor was a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

enthusiast who won a number of prestigious races including the

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

. He owned the West Ilsley Stables, where

Dick Hern William Richard Hern (20 January 1921 – 22 May 2002) was an English Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and winner of sixteen British Classic Races between 1962 and 1995, and was Champion Trainer on four occasions. Following his early career ...

trained. In 1978 he was granted a knighthood for services to agriculture, due to his chairmanship of the

Agricultural Research Council The Agricultural and Food Research Council (AFRC) was a British Research Council responsible for funding and managing scientific and technological developments in farming and horticulture. History The AFRC was formed in 1983 from its predecessor ...

. and the success of his 1,900-acre farms at

Hatley Park Hatley Park National Historic Site is located in Colwood, British Columbia, in Greater Victoria. It is the site of Hatley Castle, a Classified Federal Heritage Building. Since 1995, the mansion and estate have been used for the public Royal R ...

, his home in

Personal life

Astor was married three times. He married firstly on 23 October 1944 to Ana Inez "Chiquita" Carcano y Morra (1918–1992), daughter of the Argentine ambassador (from 1942 to 1946) and a prominent Catholic woman, which hurt his relationship with his mother.Sykes (1984), p. 75Thornton (1997), p. 444 His mother had abandoned the Church of Rome for

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...

. Ana's sister, Stella Carcano y Morra, married William Ward, 4th Earl of Dudley in 1946. Before their divorce in 1972, Jakie and Ana had three children:The Peerage, entry for Sir John Jacob Astor
/ref> * Michael Ramon Langhorne Astor (b. 1946), who married Daphne Warburg, daughter of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and Edward M. M. Warburg, in 1979. * Stella Inez Astor (b. 1949) * John William Astor (1962–1963), who died as an infant. In 1976, he married secondly Susan Eveleigh Sheppard, that marriage too ended in divorce in 1985. In 1988, he married thirdly Marcia de Savary, former wife of

Peter de Savary Peter John de Savary (11 July 1944 – 30 October 2022) was a British businessman. The bulk of his business career was spent in the shipping, oil and property sectors. He once owned or managed 13 shipyards around the globe and had global oil-tr ...

, to whom he remained married until his death in 2000. There were no children from the second or third marriages.

Honours and awards

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

3 June 1978 *

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

1 February 1945 *

Emergency Reserve Decoration The Emergency Reserve Decoration (ERD) was a British military decoration for long service, instituted on 17 November 1952 and given for service up to 1967. Eligibility It was awarded to officers of the Army Supplementary Reserve or Army Emergenc ...

30 May 1989 *

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(France) *

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

(France)

References

;Notes ;Sources * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Astor, Jakie 1918 births 2000 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford Jakie English people of German descent English people of American descent British Army personnel of World War II British Life Guards officers British racehorse owners and breeders Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Special Air Service officers UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 Younger sons of viscounts High Sheriffs of Cambridgeshire