Brooke Astor Brooke Astor Roberta Brooke Astor (née Russell; March 30, 1902 – August 13, 2007) was an American philanthropist, socialite, and writer who was the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, which had been established by her third husband, Vincent Astor, son of John Jacob Astor IV and great-great grandson of America's first multi-millionaire, John Jacob Astor. Brooke Astor was the author of two novels and two volumes of personal memoirs. Brooke was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the only child of John Henry Russell, Jr. (1872–1947), the 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps, and his wife, Mabel Cecile Hornby Howard
Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor tea," to which he responded, "Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it." The retort has been documented as being by Churchill's friend F. E. Smith, Lord Birkenhead. Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, CH (19 May 18792 May 1964) was the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat. She was an American citizen who moved to England at age 26. She made a second marriage to Waldorf Astor as a young woman in England. After he succeeded to the peerage and entered the House of Lords, she entered politics, in 1919 winning