John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever

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The Lord Astor of Hever
John Jacob Astor V, 1st Baron Astor of Hever
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
21 March 1956 – 19 July 1971
Hereditary Peerage
Preceded byPeerage created
Succeeded byThe 2nd Lord Astor of Hever
Member of Parliament
for Dover
In office
15 November 1922 – 15 June 1945
Preceded bySir Thomas Polson
Succeeded byJohn Thomas
Personal details
Born(1886-05-20)20 May 1886
Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Died19 July 1971(1971-07-19) (aged 85)
Cannes, France
Political partyConservative
Spouse
(m. 1916; died 1965)
Children
Parent(s)William Waldorf Astor
Mary Dahlgren Paul
RelativesSee Astor family
Alma materEton College
New College, Oxford

Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob Astor V, 1st Baron Astor of Hever, DL (20 May 1886 – 19 July 1971) was an American-born English newspaper proprietor, politician, sportsman, military officer, and member of the Astor family.[1]

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Astor was born in Manhattan, New York City, in 1886, the fourth child of William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (1848–1919), and Mary Dahlgren Paul (1858–1894). He was five years old when his family left New York to live in England.[1] He was raised on an estate purchased by his father at Cliveden-on-Thames in Buckinghamshire and was educated at Eton College and at New College, Oxford.[2] Astor was British Public Schools rackets champion in 1904–1905, spent a year at Oxford and finally in 1906 joined the 1st Life Guards.[3]

Olympic medal record
Representing the  United Kingdom
Men's rackets
Gold medal – first place 1908 London Men's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 1908 London Men's singles

Astor represented Great Britain in rackets at the 1908 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal in the men's doubles competition together with Vane Pennell, and winning bronze in the men's singles event.[4] In the same year he played singles and doubles in the British Army rackets championships.[3] He was then Aide-de-Camp to Baron Hardinge, Viceroy of India between 1911 and 1914 and was promoted Captain in 1913.[3]

First World War[edit]

In World War I, he was wounded while serving with his regiment at Messines in October 1914. After recovering he returned to the Western Front, returning briefly to marry Lady Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (28 May 1889 - 3 January 1965) on 28 August 1916. She was the third daughter of Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto and his wife Lady Mary Caroline Grey. From her previous marriage to Major Lord Charles George Francis Mercer Nairne Petty-Fitzmaurice, who was killed in action at Ypres in 1914, Lady Violet had two children, Margaret and George.[5]

At the start of 1918 he was put in command of 520 Household Siege Battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery, his bravery with that unit earning him the rank of Chevalier in France's Légion d'Honneur. In September that year, near Cambrai, his right leg was shattered by a shell and later amputated,[2] though he was still able to play and win against younger opponents at squash on a prosthetic limb.[2]

1919-1949[edit]

Upon his father's death in 1919, Astor inherited Hever Castle, near Edenbridge, Kent, where he lived the life of an English country gentleman. He was promoted Major in the Army in 1920.[3] In 1922, he purchased The Times newspaper following the death of its owner, Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe. He was a director of the Great Western Railway (1929-1946), Hambros Bank (1934-1960) and Barclays Bank (1942-1952).[citation needed] [6]

In addition to his directorships and newspaper business, John Jacob V served in politics, as Alderman of the London County Council between 1922 and 1925, and in the Parliament of the United Kingdom for 23 years as Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) for Dover from 1922 to 1945. In 1926, he was made Lieutenant of the City of London, then held the offices of Justice of the Peace from 1929 and Deputy Lieutenant of Kent from 1936 until 1962.

In 1927 he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Kent and Sussex Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery, a post he held until 1946, then Honorary Colonel of the 23rd London Regiment in 1928, holding that post until 1949. During World War II, he also became Lieutenant-Colonel of the 5th Battalion, City of London Home Guard, a unit drawn from newspaper employees,[7] between 1940 and 1944.[3]

Middlesex Hospital[edit]

John Astor was a great benefactor of the Middlesex Hospital, London W 1, both financially and in service given. He was a member of its Board of Governors for 40 years, and the Board's chairman for 24 years. He also endowed the Chair of Physiology in 1920 and gave the money for the Nurses' Home in Foley Street, which survived the demolition of the Hospital. For many years, the name of the donor was unknown, but it was later named John Astor House in his honour. He gave money towards the Windeyer Building of the Medical School, and Astor College, the medical students' residence.

1950s[edit]

In the 1950s Astor became Chairman of Phoenix Insurance (1952-1958), having previously served as its vice-chairman (1941-1952). In 1953 he had The Times sponsor Edmund Hillary's expedition that made the first successful climb to the summit of Mount Everest and became the first chairman of the newly-established General Council of the Press, a post he held until resigning due to ill-health in April 1955.[8]

On 21 January 1956 he was created Baron Astor of Hever, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent,[9] taking his seat in the House of Lords on 21 March.[10] He remained chairman of The Times until 1959 when his son Gavin took over, seven years before it was sold to Canadian newspaper tycoon, Roy Thomson.

Death[edit]

In 1962, he moved from England to France. He died on 19 July 1971 in Cannes, France.[1] Selected artworks from the family's vast collection were bequeathed to the National Gallery including the prized "Thames below Westminster" by Claude Monet. John Jacob V and Violet are buried together on the grounds of Hever Castle and his eldest son Gavin succeeded him as Baron.[citation needed]

Issue[edit]

Lord and Lady Astor had three sons:[11]

Through his son Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever, he is a great-grandfather of Harry Marcus George Lopes (b. 1977), who married Laura Rose Parker Bowles, the second child of Andrew Parker Bowles and Queen Camilla, thus making her the stepdaughter of King Charles III. [1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Lord Astor of Hever Is Dead, Published The Times of London. American-Born Press Lord Headed Newspaper for 37 Years. Served in House of Commons 1922-1945". The New York Times. 20 July 1971. Retrieved 27 July 2014. Lord Astor of Hever, former publisher of The Times of London, died today ...
  2. ^ a b c Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 2. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 796. ISBN 0-19-861352-0.Article by Derek Wilson.
  3. ^ a b c d e Who Was Who, 1971-1980. A and C Black. 1982. p. 30. ISBN 0-7136-2176-1.
  4. ^ "John Jacob Astor". Olympedia. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  5. ^ Burke's Peerage 2003[page needed]
  6. ^ "Some recollections by A.W. Tuke AND R.J.H Gillman" Barclays Bank Limited 1926-1969 (c) Barclays Bank Limited 1972 under appendix I (Directors of Barclays Bank Limited from 1896 to 1969, p.117. Printed in Great Britain at the University Press, Oxford by Vivian Ridler Printer to the University.
  7. ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 2. p. 797.
  8. ^ The Press and the People. General Council of the Press. 1955. p. 2.
  9. ^ "No. 40692". The London Gazette. 24 January 1956. p. 499.
  10. ^ "Lord Astor of Hever (1956)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords. 21 March 1956.
  11. ^ Burke's Peerage 1999, page 131

External links[edit]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Dover
19221945
Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Astor of Hever
1956–1971
Succeeded by
Media offices
New office Chairman of the General Council of the Press
1953–1956
Succeeded by
Linton Andrews