Step Aside, Boys

Lady Astor takes a seat

Photo by John Singer Sargent Wikimedia Commons Photo Public Domain

In 1919, American-born Nancy, Viscountess Astor, became the first woman to sit in the British House of Commons. Her husband, Waldorf Astor, was sitting MP for Plymouth Sutton. When he succeeded in the peerage and took his place in the House of Lords, the Conservative Party elected Lady Astor in his stead. She held the seat until 1945 when she retired.