The Lord Astor of Hever | |
|---|---|
 Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever | |
| Member of theHouse of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 19 July 1971 – 28 June 1984 Hereditary Peerage | |
| Preceded by | The 1st Lord Astor of Hever |
| Succeeded by | The 3rd Lord Astor of Hever |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1918-06-01)1 June 1918 |
| Died | 28 June 1984(1984-06-28) (aged 66) nearTarland,Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Spouse | |
| Children |
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| Parent(s) | John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever Violet Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound |
| Relatives | SeeAstor family |
| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of HeverDL (1 June 1918 – 28 June 1984), was an English soldier, publisher, peer, and member of theAstor family. Lord Astor served as chairman of theTimes Publishing Company and president of the family ownedTimes Newspapers Ltd.
In 1955, he founded the Astor of Hever Trust, a charity that makes grants to arts, medicine, religion, education, conservation, youth, and sport organisations.
Astor was born on 1 June 1918.[1] He was the eldest son of the American bornJohn Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever, andLady Violet Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound. He had two younger brothers, Hugh and John.[2] His mother had two children, Mary andGeorge, from her previous marriage toLord Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice.[3]
His father, the fourth child ofWilliam Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor and Mary Dahlgren Paul, was only five years old when his family left New York to live in England.[4] His mother was the third of the five children ofGilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto,Viceroy and Governor-General of India andGovernor General of Canada,[5] and Mary Caroline Grey (a daughter ofGen.Charles Grey, the second son ofCharles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey).[6]
He was educated atEton College andNew College, Oxford.[3]
After Oxford, Astor joined theLife Guards, where he reached the rank of captain.[3]
Business positions included the chairmanship of theTimes Publishing Company and life presidency ofTimes Newspapers Ltd, succeeding his father in 1959.[7] He was appointedHigh Sheriff of Sussex in 1955.[8]
Upon the death of his father in 1971, he inherited the barony andHever Castle in Kent,[3] which the family opened to tours in 1963.[9] In 1983, Astor sold the castle to John Guthrie, chairman of the family-run business, Broadland Properties Limited.[10]
In 1955, he founded the Astor of Hever Trust, a charity aimed to collect donations for arts, medicine, religion, education, conservation, youth, and sport.[11]
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On 4 October 1945, Astor marriedLady Irene Haig (1919–2001), youngest daughter of the lateField MarshalDouglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, and Dorothy Maud Vivian Haig.[12] Together, they had five children:[3]
Astor died of cancer in 1984 at his home nearTarland, Scotland. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Johnny.[14]
Through his daughter Sarah, he was a grandfather of Harry Marcus George Lopes (b. 1977), who marriedLaura Rose Parker Bowles, the second child ofAndrew Parker Bowles andCamilla Shand (later Queen Camilla), thus making her the stepdaughter of KingCharles III.[15][16]
Lord Astor of Hever, former publisher of The Times of London, died today ...
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Minto, Earls of".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 564.| Honorary titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Kent 1972–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Baron Astor of Hever 1971–1984 | Succeeded by |
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