The Hon. Michael Langhorne Astor (10 April 1916 – 28 February 1980) was a British
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 ...
politician.
Early life
Michael Astor was born on 10 April 1916. He was the fourth child 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 Witcher Langhorne, both
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
.
He attended prep school at St. Michael's,
Uckfield
Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald.
Etymology
'Uckfield', first recorded in writing as ...
, where he was a contemporary of the future writer and painter
Denton Welch
Maurice Denton Welch (29 March 1915 – 30 December 1948) was a British writer and painter, admired for his vivid prose and precise descriptions.
Life
Welch was born in Shanghai, China, to Arthur Joseph Welch, a wealthy British rubber merchant, ...
, who later included him in a short story. He was educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
and gained the rank of
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, serving in the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
(
Territorial Army).
Career
He was elected as Conservative
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Surrey East in the
1945 general election. He kept his seat in the
1950 election but did not stand in
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
. He wrote a memoir, ''Tribal Feeling'', published in 1963, and a novel, ''Brand'', published in 1968.
Personal life
Astor married three times:
* Barbara McNeill (1942–1961), with whom he had four children.
* Pandora Clifford (1961–1968).
Annabel Jones, his stepdaughter from his second marriage, married his nephew,
William Astor, 4th Viscount Astor
William Waldorf Astor III, 4th Viscount Astor (born 27 December 1951) is an English businessman and politician who sits as a Conservative hereditary Lord Temporal in the House of Lords. He is a member of the Astor family, which is known for ...
.
* Judith Innes (1970–1980), with whom he had a daughter, Polly in 1971. Polly has a daughter, Martha West, with actor
Dominic West
Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2019), t ...
.
References
External links
*
1916 births
1980 deaths
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
British people of German descent
Politics of the London Borough of Croydon
UK MPs 1945–1950
UK MPs 1950–1951
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
Royal Artillery officers
People educated at Eton College
British memoirists
Younger sons of viscounts
British male novelists
20th-century British novelists
20th-century British male writers
20th-century memoirists
British Army personnel of World War II
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