Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor

Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor (May 19, 1879–September 30, 1952) was a businessman and politician and a member of the prominent Astor family. Pre 1923 image, not subject to copyright. ... May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 92 days remaining, as the final day of September. ... 1952 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... 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. ...

Born William Waldorf Astor II in New York, New York, United States, he was the son of the extremely wealthy William Waldorf Astor (1848-1919), 1st Viscount Astor, and Mary Dahlgren Paul (1858-1894). He grew up in New York City but at age 12 the family moved to England where he would receive an education at the exclusive Eton College in Eton (then in Buckinghamshire) 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 state of New York and the entire United States. ... 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. ... 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. ... Eton is a town in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. ... New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ...

The family's wealth allowed Waldorf Astor many choices but his interest in politics would dominate his life. In 1906, he married the American divorcee, Nancy Witcher Langhorne and a few years later entered politics, winning in the election of 1910 as a Conservative Party member of the British House of Commons for Plymouth and then in 1918 the Plymouth Sutton constituency. Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor (May 19, 1879 - May 2, 1964) was a socialite politician and a member of the prominent Astor family. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Plymouth Sutton is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

As a wedding gift, Astor's father had given him and his bride the family estate at Cliveden. There, Nancy Astor undertook a redecoration of the house, installing electricity for the first time. The young couple's lavish entertaining at the estate is often referred to as the 'golden period' at Cliveden when guests such as Winston Churchill, Arthur Balfour, Rudyard Kipling, Lord Curzon of Kedleston, and others of the British elite gathered for parties, fox hunting, and other pastimes of the wealthy. This prominent circle became known as the "Cliveden Set" and were very influential over the affairs of state. Waldorf Astor was a friend and supporter of Prime Minister David Lloyd George and during World War I he served as the prime minister's parliamentary secretary. The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, FRS PC (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... The Right Honourable Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC (25 July 1848–19 March 1930) was a British statesman and the thirty-third Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... Rudyard Kipling, British author Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936) was a British author and poet, born in India. ... George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (January 11, 1859 – March 20, 1925), was a conservative British statesman who served as Viceroy of India. ... A fox hunt Fox hunting is a form of hunting for foxes using a pack of scent hounds. ... The Cliveden Set were a British 1930s group of prominent individuals, the circle of Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor. ... David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, OM, PC (January 17, 1863 – March 26, 1945) was a British statesman and the last Liberal to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... 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. ...

On the death of his father, Waldorf Astor inherited a fortune that included the influential newspaper, The Observer. In addition, as the eldest son, he received the hereditary title of Viscount Astor and automatically became a member of the House of Lords. This appointment required him to give up his seat in the House of Commons and his wife Nancy then became the party's candidate in the required by-election. In December of 1919, she became the second woman elected, and the first to take a seat, in the House of Commons. She would be re-elected many times, serving until 1945. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ...

Waldorf Astor was active in charitable causes and served as a governor of the Peabody Trust and Guy's Hospital. Still involved in political matters, he was Chairman of the Royal Institute of International Affairs from 1935 to 1949 and also served as Lord Mayor of Plymouth from 1939 to 1944. He took over a successful thoroughbred racing stable from his father and expanded it further, winning many important races throughout Britain including the prestigious St. Leger Stakes in 1927. The Peabody Trust is one of Londons largest and oldest housing associations. ... Guys Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south London. ... Chatham House (formerly the Royal Institute of International Affairs) is an institute based in London for the analysis of current affairs around the world. ... The St. ...

During the military buildup by Adolf Hitler in Germany in the 1930s, the Astors understood the weakness of the British military, believing that war would most certainly bring defeat. Their promotion of entente with Germany was seen by some as appeasement of Hitler and led to much criticism of the family. However, Nancy Astor was often fiercely critical of the Nazis, and Waldorf had protested to Hitler about his treatment of the Jews. In 1940, they urged Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to resign and supported Churchill as his replacement. His son David who became owner/editor of The Observer newspaper in 1948, would never forgive Claud Cockburn and his newssheet "The Week" for spreading lies about the "Cliveden Set".   Adolf Hitler? (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Chancellor of Germany from 1933, and Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Chancellor) of Germany from 1934, to his death. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... The Right Honourable Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869–9 November 1940) was a British politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937–1940. ... The Cliveden Set were a British 1930s group of prominent individuals, the circle of Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor. ...

Although the Astor family donated the Cliveden Estate, Cliveden-on-Thames, Buckinghamshire, England, to the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, Waldorf Astor lived there until his death in 1952 and his wife remained until her passing in 1964. 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. ... 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 (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity... The standard of the National Trust The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is an organisation which works to preserve and protect coastline, countryside and buildings in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ...

Children:

1. William Waldorf Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor (1907-1966)
2. Nancy Phyllis Louise (1909-1975)
3. Francis David Langhorne (1912-2001)
4. Michael Langhorne (1916-1979)
5. John Jacob (born 1918)

William Waldorf Astor, (August 13, 1907 - March 7, 1966), was a businessman and politician and a member of the prominent Astor family. ... Francis David Langhorne Astor (March 5, 1912, London – December 7, 2001, London) was a newspaper publisher and member of the prominent Astor family. ... Hon. ... John Jacob Jakie Astor (born August 29, 1918) is a British politician and sportsman and a member of the prominent Astor family. ...

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. ... Viscount Astor, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. ... William Waldorf Astor, (August 13, 1907 - March 7, 1966), was a businessman and politician and a member of the prominent Astor family. ...