ASTOR (OF HEVER, OF HEVER CASTLE), JOHN JACOB ASTOR, ...

born May 20, 1886, New York City died July 19, 1971, Cannes, Fr. British journalist and great-great-grandson of the U.S. fur magnate John Jacob Astor; as chief proprietor of The Times of London (192266) he maintained the newspaper's preeminent position in British journalism. He was the second son of the 1st Viscount Astor (before his emigration to England) and Astor's first wife, Mary Dahlgren. Educated at Eton, the young Astor joined the First Life Guards in 1906, and, after serving as aide-de-camp to the Viceroy of India (191114) and in World War I, Astor entered Parliament in 1922 as a Unionist, holding his seat until 1945. Also in 1922 he bought nine-tenths ownership of The Times newspaper and established it as an independent political voice. In 1953 he was elected chairman of the Council of the British Press, a body created by Parliament to review recruitment, ethics, and pensions of journalists.