Who was Nancy Astor? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor

Died At Age: 84

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor (m. 1906–1952), Robert Gould Shaw II (m. 1897–1903)

father: Chiswell Dabney Langhorne

mother: Nancy Witcher Keene

siblings: Harry Langhorne, Irene Langhorne, Keene Langhorne, Lizzie Langhorne, Nora Langhorne Phipps, Phyllis Langhorne, William Langhorne

children: 3rd Viscount Astor, David Astor, Jakie Astor, Michael Langhorne Astor, Robert Gould Shaw III, William Astor

Quotes By Nancy Astor Political Leaders

political ideology: Coalition Conservative

Died on: May 2, 1964

place of death: Lincolnshire, England

U.S. State: Virginia

Ideology: Nazis

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Childhood & Early Life

Nancy Astor was born at the Langhorne House in Danville, Virginia, to Chiswell Dabney Langhorne and Nancy Witcher Keene. Her father was an auctioneer and a rail contractor.

When Astor was born, the Astor family was going through financial crisis but by the time she was a teenager, the family regained its wealth and they moved to an estate, known as Mirador, in Albemarle County, Virginia.

Astor went to a finishing school in New York with her sister Irene. She got married at the age of 18 but unfortunately the marriage did not work out, which compelled Astor to move to England.

Quotes: Me, Women, I

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Career

Astor found her relocation to England in 1905 comforting and became socially famous among the elites for her queer combination of wit and restraint. She got married again and started living in Buckinghamshire on the River Thames.

She became a part of a small political circle called Milner's Kindergarten, a group that promoted equality among English-speaking people and extension of British imperialism. She also increasingly became a devout to Christian Science.

Being a Christian Science follower, she participated in World War I, by being there for those who needed non-medical assistance. With her newly found spiritual beliefs and compassion, Astor became famous amongst soldiers.

After Waldorf inherited the title of viscount in 1919, she became a viscountess. She decided to campaign to take over her husband's seat in the House of Commons. It was a difficult task as Astor had no proper political background.

Her upper-class status was held against her during the campaign and she was continuously pulled down publically. But with her personality and work that she did during WWI, she was elected to the Westminster Parliament in 1919.

During the 1920s Astor made numerous effective speeches and introduced the Intoxicating Liquor (Sale to Persons under 18) Bill (nicknamed 'Lady Astor’s Bill') raising the legal age for consuming alcohol in a public house from 14 to 18.

She worked towards bringing more women into the civil service and the police force, worked towards education reforms, and financed many charitable organizations. She was particularly famous for supporting nursery schools.

By the 1930s, Astor started to lose her popularity because of various incidents, like the arrest of her son Bobbie for homosexual offences and her friendship with the controversial writer George Bernard Shaw. She remained unmindful of her mounting disapproval.

Her views on Nazism were further lowered her popularity. She was seen as a supporter of fascism and a political figure with anti-Semitic ideas. She and her husband were strong supporters of the British appeasement policy.

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The Tories thought of her as a liability in the final years of World War II, and her husband told her that if she ran for office again the family would not support her, which is why she retired in 1945.

Quotes: Time, I

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Major Works

As a Member of Parliament, Lady Astor brought a number of reforms. In the 1920s, she introduced the Intoxicating Liquor Bill raising the legal age for consuming alcohol in public from 14 to 18.

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Awards & Achievements

In 1959, she was honored with the Freedom of City of Plymouth.

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Personal Life & Legacy

Astor was married to Robert Gould Shaw II, commander of the all-black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, in 1897. The couple had a son together: Robert Gould Shaw III but the marriage ended in divorce.

She got married again to Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, an American born English politician and newspaper proprietor, in 1906. The couple had 5 children: William Astor, Nancy Phyllis Louise, Francis David Langhorne, Michael Langhorne and John Jacob.

She died in 1964 at her daughter's home at Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire. She was cremated and her ashes interred at the Octagon Temple at Cliveden.

Trivia

She lived her final years in loneliness.

Astor’s son Bobbie committed suicide after her death and Jakie married a famous Catholic woman, against her wishes, and her other children became alienated from her towards the end of her life.

During one of her US tours she told a group of African-American students that they should aim to be like the black servants she had during her youth.

She publicly blamed her husband for forcing her to retire from parliament.

In Rhodesia, she arrogantly told the white minority government leaders that she was the daughter of a slave owner.

Astor once got into a fight with her husband over chocolates and soon after he had a heart attack. After this, their marriage grew cold.

Nancy Astor Biography