English politics and the expansion of the British Empire, as well as political and social reforms on the continent. France had known two dynasties and embraced Republicanism, Spain had seen three monarchs and both Italy and Germany had united their separate principalities into national coalitions. Even in her dotage, she maintained a youthful energy and optimism that infected the English population as a whole.national pride connected with the name of Victoria - the term Victorian England, for example, stemmed from the Queen's ethics and personal tastes, which generally reflected those of the middle class.
Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor
She was the first woman to take a seat in the British House of Commons.Astor was born in 1879 in Virginia, one of five sisters (and two brothers). One of her sisters married the artist Charles Dana Gibson, who immortalized his wife as the "Gibson girl." Astor's father was a Confederate officer. After the war he became a tobacco auctioneer. During her early childhood, the family was poor and struggling; as she became an adolescent, her father's success brought the family wealth. Her father refused to send her to college, a fact that Nancy Astor resented.October 1897, Nancy Astor married society Bostonian Robert Gould Shaw. They had one son before they separated in 1902, divorcing in 1903.Astor then went to England. On a ship, she met Waldorf Astor, whose American millionaire father had become a British lord. They married in London on April 19, 1906, and Nancy Astor moved with Waldorf t the family home in Cliveden, where she proved an adept and popular society hostess. In the course of their marriage, they had four sons and one daughter. In 1914 the couple, who also shared a birthdate, converted to Christian Science.and Nancy Astor became involved in reform politics, part of a circle of reformers around Lloyd George. In 1909 Waldorf stood for election to the House of Commons as a Conservative from a Plymouth constituency; he lost the election but won on his second try, in 1910. The family moved to Plymouth when he won. Waldorf served in the House of Commons until 1919, when, at his father's death, he became a Lord and thereby became a member of the House of Lords.Astor decided to run for the seat that Waldorf vacated, and she was elected in 1919. Constance Markiewicz had been elected to the House of Commons in 1918, but chose not to take her seat. Nancy Astor was the first woman to take a seat in Parliament - the only woman MP until 1921.campaign slogan was "Vote for Lady Astor and your children will weigh more." She worked for temperance, women's rights, and children's rights . Another slogan she used was "If you want a party hack, don't elect me." p align="justify"> Nancy Astor was an opponent of socialism and, later during the Cold War, an outspoken critic of communism. She was also an anti-fascist. ...
