Nancy Astor

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.

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.

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.

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.