David Astor
Francis David Langhorne Astor CH (born March 5, 1912 in London , † March 7, 2001 in London ) was a British journalist and newspaper publisher ( The Observer ).
Life
Early years (1912-1936)
Astor was born in 1912 as the third child of the United States-born British businessman and peer Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor and his wife Nancy , the first female MP in the British Parliament (1919). As the son of one of the wealthiest families in Great Britain, he grew up in material prosperity and came into contact with the country's economic and social elite at a young age.
As a child, Astor attended the elite Eton College . He then began studying at Oxford University , where he attended Balliol College . Astor's fellow students in Balliol included the German student and later resistance fighter against the Nazi regime Adam von Trott zu Solz , an encounter that would influence Astor for a lifetime. After a nervous breakdown, Astor left Oxford in 1933 without a degree.
Astor and the Observer (1937-1975)
From 1936 to 1937 Astor worked for the Yorkshire Post newspaper , after which he moved to his father's owned newspaper The Observer . During the Second World War Astor was active on the staff of Lord Louis Mountbatten in the " Combined Operations ". After returning from the war in 1945, Astor began preparing for his future role as editor of the Observer , succeeding his father, which he would take up in 1948 and hold until 1975.
The most important journalists whose careers Astor was to promote included the German exile Sebastian Haffner and Astor's close friend George Orwell , who, at Astor's request, accompanied the liberation of France and the Allied invasion of Germany as war correspondent for the Observer . According to some literary critics and researchers, the character of the wealthy publisher in Orwell's novel " The Delights of Aspidistra " is based on Astor.
In the 1950s, Astor turned the Observer into one of the UK's most successful and influential newspapers. After Astor and the Observer accused the British Government of Anthony Eden in 1956 of lying to the population about the state of British involvement in Suez, the reputation of Astor and his newspaper suffered serious damage and the Observer's circulation began to decline - though the allegations should ultimately turn out to be essentially justified.
In 1961, at the request of his friend Louis Blom-Cooper, Astor agreed to the publication of the article "The Forgotten Prisoners", written by activist Peter Beneson, in the May 28, 1961 issue of the Observer , which appealed for an "Appeal for Amnesty" The human rights organization Amnesty International was founded.
In the foreign policy stance of the observer, Astor distinguished himself in particular through his energetic criticism of the apartheid system in South Africa and as an emphatic supporter of the African National Congress . Furthermore, he took decisive positions on the subjects of the death penalty and censorship, which he strictly opposed. He stood out as an opponent of the excessive power of trade unions as well as large companies and drew attention to himself as a denunciator of the needs of Africa and through his uncompromising advocacy of human rights.
Late years and death
In 1977, two years after Astor's editorial position at the Observer ended , the newspaper was sold to American businessman Robert O'Anderson. Because of his services to British society, Astor was inducted into the Order of the Companions of Honor in 1994 .
Astor died in 2001 and was buried in the All Saints' Churchyard in Sutton Courtenay (Oxfordshire) in the grave next to the grave of his friend George Orwell.
Marriages and offspring
Astor was married twice: in his first marriage from 1945 to 1951 to Melanie Hauser. From this marriage the daughter Frances Christine Langhorne (* 1947) emerged. Astor's second marriage to Bridget Aphra Wreford (1952–2001) had five children: Alice Margaret Frances Astor (* 1953), Richard David Langhorne (* 1955), Lucy Aphra Nancy (* 1958), Nancy Bridget Elizabeth (* 1960) , Thomas Robert Langhorne (* 1962).
literature
- Jeremy Lewis: David Astor: a life in print , London: Jonathan Cape, 2016, ISBN 978-0-224-09090-2
Web links
- Literature by and about David Astor in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Astor, David |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Astor, Francis David Langhorne (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British journalist and newspaper publisher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 5, 1912 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 7, 2001 |
| Place of death | London |