Viscount Astor Viscount Astor Viscount Astor, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1917 for the financier and statesman William Waldorf Astor, 1st Baron Astor. He had already been created Baron Astor, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent, in 1916, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. His eldest son, the second Viscount, was the husband of Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, the first woman to sit in the House of Commons. the titles are held by their grandson, the fourth Viscount, who succeeded his
Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor paper. Astor convinced his father to purchase the paper, which William did on the condition that Garvin also agree to edit the "Pall Mall Gazette", which was also a property of the Astor family. Though his father provided the funds, it was Waldorf who was in charge of the paper, and he developed a harmonious working relationship with Garvin. William formally turned over ownership of both papers to his son in 1915, who promptly sold the "Pall Mall Gazette" but retained ownership of "The Observer". Like many of his class, Astor joined the army at the start of the First