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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. Note: Standard genealogies of the Astor family consider this man to also be known as John Jacob Astor V.
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.
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 Lieutenant of the City of London in 1926. 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.
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:
- 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 (1964-1974)
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.
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.
In addition to his newspaper business, John Astor 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 for Dover from 1922 to 1945. On January 21 1956, he was created Baron Astor of Hever, of Hever Castle, co. Kent.
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.
John and Violet Astor are buried together on the grounds of Hever Castle, which, since 1983, has been owned by Broadland Properties Limited and is a major tourist attraction.
Sources
1886 births | 1971 deaths | Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom | British MPs | Members of the London County Council | Newspaper publishers of the 20th century (people) | Astor family | UK Conservative Party politicians
"John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever"