John Astor (26 September 1923 – 27 December 1987) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician.

Early life

John was the youngest of three sons born to John Jacob Astor V, 1st Baron Astor of Hever and Lady Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound. He had two elder brothers, Gavin Astor, who inherited his father's barony, and Hugh Astor. His mother had two children, Mary Petty-Fitzmaurice, and George Petty-Fitzmaurice, from her first marriage to

Lord Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice Lord Charles George Francis Fitzmaurice MVO (12 February 1874 – 30 October 1914) was an English soldier and courtier. For the last few months of his life he was known as Lord Charles Mercer Nairne. Early life Fitzmaurice was the younger son o ...

who was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

. His elder half-brother George later became the 8th Marquess of Lansdowne. His paternal grandparents were American born

William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (31 March 1848 – 18 October 1919) was an American-English attorney, politician, hotelier, publisher and philanthropist. Astor was a scion of the very wealthy Astor family of New York City. He moved t ...

, and his wife, Mary Dahlgren Paul. His maternal grandparents were

Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, (; 9 July 18451 March 1914), known as Viscount Melgund by courtesy from 1859 to 1891, was a British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada from 1898 to 1904, and Vi ...

and his wife Lady Mary Caroline Grey. He was educated at Summerfields and

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 ...

Career

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

. He was a

Berkshire County Council Berkshire County Council, also known as the County Council of the Royal County of Berkshire, was the county council for Berkshire in England. It was created in 1889 and abolished in 1998. The council had responsibilities for education, social ...

lor from 1953 and an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

from 1960. Astor was elected as a

MP for Newbury in the 1964 general election. He was re-elected twice, in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, but stood down before the first February 1974 general election. In 1970, he was appointed to the position of Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Overseas Development.

Personal life

In 1950, he married Diana Kathleen Drummond, a daughter of George Henry Drummond and Helena Kathleen Holt. Helena was a niece of civil engineer

Herbert Samuel Holt Sir Herbert Samuel Holt (February 12, 1855 – September 28, 1941) was an Ireland, Irish-born Canadians, Canadian civil engineer who became a businessman, banker, and corporate director. He was President of the Royal Bank of Canada, Montreal ...

. They had three children, two sons and a daughter, including: * Elizabeth Kathleen Astor (1951-2023) * John Richard Astor (1953–2016), who married Katherine Mary Darell in 1977. * George David Astor (born 1958), who married Marianne Julia Piroska Leche (1958-2019) in 1983. In 1982, he married Penelope Eve Bradford (d. 2006). They had no children and lived at Kirby House,

Inkpen Inkpen is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, southeast of Hungerford, most of the land of which is cultivated fields with scattered woodland once part of a former forest of Savernake. Inkpen has boundaries with Wiltshire and Hamp ...

, Berkshire. Astor died at Kirby House in Berkshire on 27 December 1987. Penelope died on 31 December 2006.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Astor, John 1923 births 1987 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

English people of American descent English people of German descent English people of Irish descent English people of Scottish descent Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in Berkshire Newbury, Berkshire People educated at Eton College Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 Younger sons of barons Livingston family