Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor
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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 travelling and living in Europe before his family settled in England in 1889. There Waldorf attended
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
and
New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
, 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, 19 May 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. * William Waldorf Astor II, 3rd Viscount Astor (13 August 1907 — 7 March 1966) * Nancy Phyllis Louise Astor, Countess of Ancaster (22 March 1909 — 2 March 1975) * Francis David Langhorne Astor (5 March 1912 — 6 December 2001) * Michael Langhorne Astor (10 April 1916 — 26 February 1980) *
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
Sir John Jacob "Jakie" Astor VII (29 August 1918 — 10 September 2000) Through his wife 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 The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
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 ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'', 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 ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed i ...
'', 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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, 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 A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
and formed a new
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
, 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 A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...
as Viscount Astor. Upon the death of his father in October 1919, Waldorf Astor succeeded to the
viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...
cy and became the 2nd Viscount Astor despite Waldorf's attempts to disclaim the title. Now a member of the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, 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 Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
) 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 Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
, and served as its
Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...
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 A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...
(1945); One Thousand Guineas Stakes:- Winkipop (1910) and Saucy Sue (1925);
Oaks Stakes The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 y ...
:- Sunny Jane (1917),
Pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
(1922), Saucy Sue (1925),
Short Story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
(1926) and Pennycomequick (1929); and St Leger Stakes:- Book Law (1927). He famously never won the Derby but had the second placed horse 5 times. In addition to these successes he had 4 winners of the Eclipse Stakes, 3 winners of the St. James's Palace Stakes and 2 winners of the Champion Stakes. To this day he still holds the record for the number of winners (7) of Royal Ascot's important Coronation Stakes. He bred all of these horses and they all emanated from his three foundation mares. In 1950, in poor health, he decided to withdraw from racing. He handed over his stud to his eldest son William and divided his bloodstock between William and his youngest son Jakie (John Jacob). The two brothers tossed a coin and then took alternate choices of the thoroughbred stock. The eldest son continued using his racing colours of pale blue and pink and Jakie's colours were a variation on this. During the military buildup in Germany in the 1930s, the Astors promoted entente with Germany, seen by critics as appeasement of Hitler. Many of their associates felt sympathy for the state of Germany after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, feared Communism, and supported the position of the British government. Astor had antisemitic views and in the 1930s he told Thomas Jones that Germany was criticised because, "Newspapers are influenced by those firms which advertise so largely in the press and are frequently under Jewish control." In 1940, they urged
Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...
to resign and supported Churchill as replacement. He also supported war against Germany when it came although both remained uncomfortable with
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
as an ally (from 1941). His son David Astor, who became owner and editor of ''The Observer'' in 1948, never forgave Claud Cockburn and his newssheet ''
The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...
'' for attacks on the "
Cliveden Set The Cliveden set were an upper-class group of politically influential people active in the 1930s in the United Kingdom, prior to the Second World War. They were in the circle of Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, the first female Member of Parliament ...
". The Astor family donated Cliveden Estate in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
to the National Trust in 1942. Viscount Astor died on 30 September 1952 at Cliveden near Taplow, England, and was buried in the Octagon Temple at Cliveden. His eldest son Bill succeeded him as Viscount.


Arms


References


External links

* * * This article is mostly about Waldorf Astor. {{DEFAULTSORT:Astor, Waldorf 2nd Viscount Astor 1879 births 1952 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British racehorse owners and breeders British Christian Scientists British newspaper publishers (people) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plymouth Politicians from New York City People from Taplow Waldorf Deputy lieutenants of Devon UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs who inherited peerages Parliamentary private secretaries to the prime minister 2 American emigrants to England American expatriates in England Livingston family People educated at Eton College Mayors of Plymouth British Army personnel of World War I Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Spouses of British politicians