John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever

Olympic medal record
Representing the  United Kingdom
Men's rackets
	1908 London	Men's doubles
	1908 London	Men's singles

Astor represented Great Britain in rackets at the 1908 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal in the men's doubles competition together with Vane Pennell, and winning bronze in the men's singles event.

Astor had been the British Public Schools rackets champion in 1904–1905, and in the same year as his Olympic competition he played singles and doubles in the British Army rackets championships.[3]

Despite a later loss of leg, he was able to play and win against younger opponents at squash on a prosthetic limb.[2]

He served in the 1st Life Guards, which he joined in 1906[3] after a year at Oxford, and was Aide-de-Camp to Baron Hardinge, Viceroy of India between 1911 and 1914. Within his regiment he was promoted Captain in 1913 and Major in 1920.[3]

In World War I, he was wounded serving with his regiment at Messines in October 1914. After recovering he returned to the Western Front, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel commanding 520 Household Siege Battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery and awarded the Légion d'Honneur as a Chevalier. In September 1918, near Cambrai, his right leg was shattered by a shell and later amputated.[2]

He was Honorary Colonel of the Kent and Sussex Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery, between 1927 and 1946 and Honorary Colonel of the 23rd London Regiment, between 1928 and 1949. In World War II he was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 5th Battalion, City of London Home Guard, a unit drawn from newspaper employees,[4] between 1940 and 1944.[3]

Astor married Lady Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (28 May 1889 - 3 January 1965) on 28 August 1916. She was the third daughter of Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto and his wife Lady Mary Caroline Grey. From her previous marriage to Major Lord Charles George Francis Mercer Nairne Petty-Fitzmaurice, who was killed in action at Ypres in 1914, Lady Violet had two children, Margaret and George.[5]

Lord and Lady Astor had three sons:[6]

• Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever (1 June 1918 - 28 June 1984), married Lady Irene Haig, youngest daughter of Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, and Dorothy Maud Vivian, and had five children including John Jacob "Johnny" Astor VIII.
• Lt Col Hon Hugh Waldorf Astor (20 November 1920 - 7 June 1999), married Emily Lucy Kinloch, a niece of Diana Vreeland, and had five children.
• Hon John Astor (26 September 1923 - 27 December 1987), married Diana Kathleen Drummond, a grandniece of Herbert Samuel Holt, and had three children.

He was a director of the Great Western Railway between 1929 and 1946. In 1926, Astor was Lieutenant of the City of London, then held the offices of Justice of the Peace from 1929 and Deputy Lieutenant of Kent from 1936 until 1962. He was a director of Hambros Bank between 1934 and 1960. He was Vice-Chairman of Phoenix Insurance between 1941 and 1952 and Chairman of between 1952 and 1958. He was a director of Barclays Bank between 1942 and 1952. on page 117 of "some recollections by A.W. Tuke AND R.J.H Gillman" Barclays Bank Limited 1926-1969 (c) Barclays Bank Limited 1972 under appendix I (Directors of Barclays Bank Limited from 1896 to 1969 Printed in Great Britain at the University Press, Oxford by Vivian Ridler Printer to the University.

In 1922, he purchased The Times newspaper following the death of its owner, Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe. During his tenure as head of The Times, Lord Astor had the newspaper sponsor Edmund Hillary's expedition that made the first successful climb to the summit of Mount Everest. Astor remained chairman of the paper until 1959 when his son Gavin took over. In 1966, The Times was sold to Canadian newspaper tycoon, Roy Thomson.

Astor served as the first chairman of the General Council of the Press, which was established in 1953. He resigned from the position in April 1955 due to ill-health.[7]

In addition to his newspaper business, John Jacob V served in politics, as Alderman of the London County Council between 1922 and 1925, and in the Parliament of the United Kingdom for 23 years as Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) for Dover from 1922 to 1945. On 21 January 1956 he was created Baron Astor of Hever, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent.[8] In 1962, he moved from England to France.

He died on 19 July 1971 in Cannes, France.[1]