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| Nancy Astor |
-1919- Nancy Astor was elected a Member of the Parliament of the United
Kingdom. She was the first woman to sit in the House of Commons.
Nancy
Witcher Langhorne Astor (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964), rallied the supporters of
the incumbent government, moderated her Prohibition views, and used women's
meetings to gain the support of female voters. A by-election was held on 28
November 1919, and she took up her seat in the House on 1 December as a
Unionist (also known as "Tory") Member of Parliament. Astor's
friendship with George Bernard Shaw helped her through some of her problems,
although his own nonconformity caused friction between them. They held opposing
political views and had very different temperaments. However, his own tendency
to make controversial statements or put her into awkward situations proved to
be a drawback for her political career. Astor was challenged by the rise of
Nazism. She criticized them for devaluing the position of women, but was
strongly opposed to the idea of another World War. Lady Astor died in 1964 at
her daughter Nancy Astor's home at Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire.
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