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 charitable projects, and with his more famous wife Nancy became a prominent fixture in upper class English society.

Early life

Astor was born in New York City. He was the eldest son of William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor, and Mary Dahlgren Paul. His younger brothers were John Rudolph Astor (who died young) and John Jacob Astor V, Baron Astor of Hever. He spent much of his life traveling and living in Europe before his family settled in England in 1889. There Waldorf attended Eton College and New College, Oxford, where he excelled as a sportsman, earning accolades for both fencing and polo. R. J. Q. Adams, "Astor, Waldorf, second Viscount Astor", in ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison, eds. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), vol. 2, p. 801. For the Oxford University Polo Club he played side on side with Devereux Milburn in successive Varsity Matches, winning by a margin of 14 goals on both occasions.

Marriage and children

In 1905, while a passenger on an Atlantic voyage returning to Britain, Astor met Nancy Langhorne Shaw, a divorced woman with a young son ( Robert Gould Shaw III). Coincidentally, both he and Mrs Shaw shared the same birthdate, May 19, 1879, and both were American. After a rapid courtship, the two married in May 1906. As a wedding gift, Waldorf's father gave him and his bride the Sancy diamond and the family estate at Cliveden, which Nancy redecorated and modernised with the installation of electricity. Theirs proved a close marriage, and they had five children:

* William Waldorf Astor II, 3rd Viscount Astor (born 13 August 1907, died 7 March 1966)
* Nancy Phyllis Louise Astor (born 22 March 1909, died 2 March 1975)
* Francis David Langhorne Astor (born 5 March 1912, died 6 December 2001)
* Michael Langhorne Astor (born 10 April 1916, died 26 February 1980)
* Major Sir John Jacob "Jakie" Astor VII (born 29 August 1918, died 10 September 2000)

Astor valued his wife; through her, Astor developed an interest in social reform.

Public career

Nancy also encouraged her husband to launch a career in politics. Though defeated in an initial attempt to win election to the House of Commons in the January 1910 general election, Astor won election as a Unionist for the borough of Plymouth in the December 1910 general election. He held the seat until the constituency was abolished in 1918, after which he moved to the borough of Plymouth Sutton. Despite his political affiliation, Astor quickly demonstrated his independence by his support for the so-called " People's Budget" and the National Insurance Act of 1911.

In 1911, Astor was approached by James Louis Garvin, the editor of ''The Observer'', about purchasing the newspaper from its owner, the press baron Lord Northcliffe. Northcliffe and Garvin had a disagreement over the issue of Imperial Preference, and Northcliffe had given Garvin the option of finding a buyer for the paper. Astor convinced his father to purchase the paper, which William did on the condition that Garvin also agree to edit the '' Pall Mall Gazette'', which was also a property of the Astor family. Though his father provided the funds, it was Waldorf who was in charge of the paper, and he developed a harmonious working relationship with Garvin. William formally turned over ownership of both papers to his son in 1915, who promptly sold the ''Pall Mall Gazette'' but retained ownership of ''The Observer''.

Following the outbreak of the First World War, Astor joined the Army. Having been diagnosed with a bad heart, Astor was unable to serve in combat and instead fought waste and inefficiency in munitions production. He was appointed an Inspector of Administrative Services, with the temporary rank of major, on 20 October 1914, serving until January 1917, when he resigned his commission and was granted the honorary rank of major. When his friend David Lloyd George became prime minister and formed a new coalition government, Astor became his parliamentary private secretary. In 1918 he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food and from 1919 until 1921 he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health while also playing a prominent role as a member of Lloyd George's "garden suburb" of advisers.

In 1916, father William Waldorf Astor was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Astor. Upon the death of his father in October 1919, Waldorf Astor succeeded to the viscountcy and became the 2nd Viscount Astor despite Waldorf's attempts to disclaim the title. Now a member of the House of Lords, Astor was forced to forfeit his seat in the House of Commons, though he remained active in the government. The seat was won subsequently in a by-election by Astor's wife Nancy, who became the second woman elected to the House of Commons and the first woman to take her seat in the House, after the first woman elected, Constance Markievicz, had declined in accordance with her (Sinn Féin) party's policy. Nancy retained the seat until she stepped down in the 1945 general election.

Later years

With his political career eclipsed by that of his wife, Waldorf turned to greater involvement in charitable causes. He became governor of the Peabody Trust and Guy's Hospital, while his interest in international relations fuelled his involvement with the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and he served as its chairman from 1935 to 1949. He was also a considerable benefactor to the city of Plymouth, and served as its Lord Mayor from 1939 to 1944. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Devonport, Plymouth-based Devonshire Heavy Brigade, Royal Artillery of the Territorial Army on 5 April 1929.

Astor first got involved in horseracing, whilst an undergraduate, when he purchased a filly called Conjure for 100 guineas. He later bought two other fillies/mares called Maid of the Mist and Popinjay and these three became the foundation mares of Astor's Cliveden Stud that he established near to his home. He became a successful owner-breeder and in all won 11 Classic races. These were; Two Thousand Guineas Stakes:- Craig an Eran (1921), Pay Up (1936) and Court Martial (1945); One Thousand Guineas Stakes:- Winkipop (1910) and Saucy Sue