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Article: Sir John Astor Dies; MP, Soldier, Horseman
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- September 17, 2000
- Author:
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Sir John "Jakie" Astor, 82, who was born to aristocracy and wealth
and went on to serve as a soldier and member of Parliament as well as
a noted race horse breeder and owner, died Sept. 10 in England. He
had Parkinson's disease.
Sir John, born John Jacob Astor, was the son of Waldorf, the 2nd
Viscount Astor, and the former Nancy Langhorne. His American-born
mother is best known to history as Nancy Astor, the first woman to
take a seat in the British House of Commons.
His mother, a Tory, was known for her cutting wit, her contentious
opinions and her championship of appeasement toward Hitler's Germany
before World War II. The Astors' home, Cliveden, where they famously
entertained, became ...