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
John Jacob Astor III John Jacob Astor III John Jacob Astor III (June 10, 1822 – February 22, 1890) was an American financier, philanthropist and a soldier during the American Civil War. He was a prominent member of the Astor family, becoming the wealthiest family member in his generation and the founder of their English branch. Astor was the eldest son of real estate businessman William Backhouse Astor, Sr. (1792–1875) and Margaret Alida Rebecca Armstrong (1800–1872). His younger brother, businessman William Backhouse Astor, Jr. (1829–1892), became the patriarch of the male line of American Astors. His paternal grandparents were fur-trader John Jacob Astor (1763–1848)