Lt. Col. John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever (May 20, 1886–July 19, 1971), was a military officer, statesman, a newspaper proprietor, and a member of the prominent Astor family. May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... The Astor family, founded by the German immigrant John Jacob Astor and his wife Sarah Todd, became the wealthiest family in the United States during the 19th century. ...

Lord Astor of Hever was born in 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 a boy of five when his family left New York to live in England. 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. Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ... 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (March 31, 1848–October 18, 1919) was a financier and statesman and a member of the prominent Astor family. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Cliveden is a mansion in Berkshire (though until the county borders changed in 1974 it was in Buckinghamshire) with an intriguing history. ... Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a county in South East England. ... The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a public school (that is, an independent, fee-charging secondary school) for boys. ... New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ...

Army life

He served in the Life Guards, rising to Officer in 1906 and was Aide-de-Camp to Baron Hardinge, Viceroy of India between 1911 and 1914. He served in the British army during World War I, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel and was awarded the Légion d'Honneur as a Chevalier. He held the office of Alderman of the London City Council between 1922 and 1925, then Lieutenant of the City of London in 1926. He was Conservative M.P. for Dover between 1922 and 1945. He was Honorary Colonel of the Kent and Sussex Royal Guard Artillery, between 1927 and 1946 and Honorary Colonel of the 23rd London Regiment, between 1928 and 1949. He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of Kent from 1936 to 1962 and was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 5th Battalion, City of London (Home Guard) between 1940 and 1944. The Life Guards is the senior regiment of the British Army. ... 1906 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (20 June 1858 - 2 August 1944) was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916. ... The Governor-General of India (or Governor-General and Viceroy of India) was the head of the British administration in India. ... 1911 was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... French Legion of Honour The Légion dhonneur (Legion of Honor (AmE) or Legion of Honour (ComE)) is an Order of Chivalry awarded by the President of France. ... ... An alderman is a member of a municipal legislative body in a town or city with many jurisdictions. ... London City Council is the governing body of the city of London, Ontario, Canada. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1925 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about a small section of central London. ... Map sources for Dover at grid reference TR315415 Arms of Dover Borough Council This article is about the English port town. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1927 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Marriage

On August 28, 1916 married Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, (May 28, 1889-January 3, 1965), the daughter of the 4th Earl of Minto. They had three children: August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... 1889 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... // Events January-February January 4 - United States President Lyndon Johnson proclaims his Great Society during his State of the Union address. ...

• Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever (1 June 1918]]–1984)
• Lt.-Col. Hon. Hugh Waldorf Astor (20 November 1920–7 June 1999)
• Hon. John Astor (26 September 1923–1987), MP for Newbury (1923-1987)

June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... John Astor (September 26, 1923 - 1987) was a Conservative MP for Newbury and member of the prominent Astor family, being the son of John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever. ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ... 1923 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... Newbury is a UK parliamentary constituency consisting of Newbury, Thatcham, Hungerford and a large part of the surrounding area of West Berkshire. ...

Career

He was a director of the Great Western Railway between 1929 and 1946. He held the office of Justice of the Peace for Kent between 1929 and 1962. He was a director of Hambros Bank between 1934 and 1960. He was Vice-Chairman of Phoenix Insurance between 1941 and 1952 and Chairman of between 1952 and 1958. He was a director of Barclays Bank between 1942 and 1952. The original Bristol Temple Meads station, first terminus of the GWR, is the building to the left of this picture The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. ... A Justice of the Peace (JP) is a magistrate appointed by a commission to keep the peace, dispense summary justice and deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. ... Hambros Bank, British bank, based in London, today named SG Hambros. ... Barclays Bank LSE: BARC NYSE: BCS (TYO: 8642) is the fourth largest bank in the United Kingdom. ...

On his father's death in 1919, John Astor inherited Hever Castle near Edenbridge, Kent where he lived the life of an English country gentleman. In 1922, he purchased The Times newspaper following the death of its owner, Alfred Harmsworth (Lord Northcliffe). During his tenure as head of The Times, John Astor had the newspaper sponsor Edmund Hillary's expedition that made the first successful climb to the summit of Mount Everest. Astor remained chairman of the paper until 1959 when his son Gavin took over. In 1966, The Times was sold to Canadian newspaper tycoon, Roy Thomson. Hever Castle, in Kent, England, was the seat of the Boleyn family. ... Edenbridge is a town in the Weald of Kent, England on the River Eden, near the spot where the borders of Kent, Surrey and Sussex meet. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom. ... Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (July 15, 1865, Dublin - August 14, 1922, London) was an influential and successful newspaper owner. ... Sir Edmund Hillary after accompanying first plane to land at the Marble Point ground air strip - Antarctica Edmund Hillary on the New Zealand 5 dollar note Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE (Born July 20, 1919 ) is a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer, most famous for the first successful... Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth above mean sea level. ... Roy Herbert Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet (June 5, 1894 – August 4, 1976) was a newspaper proprietor and media entrepreneur. ...

In addition to his newspaper business, John Astor served in the Parliament of the United Kingdom for 23 years as a member of the House of Commons from 1922 to 1945 and on January 21, 1956, he was created Baron Astor of Hever, of Hever Castle, co. Kent. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and is now the dominant elected branch of Parliament. ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Baron Astor of Hever is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. ...

Death

On his death in 1971 (in Cannes, France), selected artworks from the family's vast collection were bequeathed to the National Gallery including the prized "Thames below Westminster" by Claude Monet. Overview of Cannes from Le Suquet The seaside town of Cannes, in southern France, as seen from a ferry speeding towards lîle Saint Honorat Cannes (Canas in Provençal) (pronounced ) is a city and commune in southern France, located on the Riviera, in the Alpes-Maritimes département. ... Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (November 14, 1840 – December 5, 1926) was a French impressionist painter. ...

John and Violet Astor are buried together on the grounds of Hever Castle, which, since 1983, has been owned by Broadland Porperties Limited and is a major tourist attraction.

Baron Astor of Hever is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. ...

Sources

• www.thepeerage.com