| Variations of Name | Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor |
| Biography | Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, CH was an American-born British politician who was the second female Member of Parliament (MP) but the first to take her seat, serving from 1919 to 1945. Sinn Féin's Constance Markievicz had become the first elected female MP in 1918, but refused to take up her seat in line with party policy.
Astor was an American citizen who moved to England at age 26 and married Waldorf Astor. He succeeded to the peerage and entered the House of Lords; she then entered politics and won his former seat in Plymouth in 1919, becoming the first woman to sit as an MP in the House of Commons. She served in Parliament as a member of the Conservative Party for Plymouth Sutton until 1945, when she was persuaded to step down. |