24 Facts About David Astor

Francis David Langhorne Astor, CH was an English newspaper publisher, editor of The Observer at the height of its circulation and influence, and member of the Astor family, "the landlords of New York".

David Astor was born in London, England, the third child of American-born English parents, Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, and Nancy Witcher Langhorne.

An extremely shy man, David Astor was greatly influenced by his father, but as a young man he rebelled against his strong-willed mother.

David Astor was psycho-analysed by Anna Freud, and during World War II, he served with distinction as a Royal Marines officer and was wounded in France.

In 1936, Astor joined the Yorkshire Post newspaper, where he worked for a year before joining his father's newspaper, The Observer, which he would edit for 27 years.

In 1945, David Astor purchased the Manor House at Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, living there and restoring The Abbey in the village, which he bought in 1958 and was across the road from the Manor House.

David Astor leased The Abbey to the Ockenden Venture, which used it as a home for refugee children.

David Astor became the editor of The Observer in 1948 and by the mid-1950s, he had made The Observer a successful and influential paper that published points of view from the right and left.

David Astor's policies were passionate about the plight of black Africans and the violation of human rights.

David Astor wrote against the death penalty and opposed all censorship.

David Astor warned of the dangers of big government and of big business, influenced by his friend and employee of The Observer, George Orwell.

David Astor broadly supported the Cold War containment policies of Atlantic alliance and consequently had difficulties with The Observer's foreign editor, the German emigre Sebastian Haffner.

David Astor's causes included playing a main role in establishing Amnesty International in 1961 after his paper published "The Forgotten Prisoners" by Peter Benenson.

David Astor voiced strong opposition to the apartheid policy of the white South African government and supported the African National Congress.

In 1975, David Astor resigned as editor of The Observer but continued as a trustee.

In 1995 David Astor was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Plymouth University.

David Astor continued his campaign even after Hindley admitted taking part in two more murders in 1986.

David Astor had been a supporter of the campaign for Mandela's release from prison.

David Astor had been a supporter of Mandela and an opponent of South Africa's apartheid regime since shortly after Mandela was jailed in 1964.

David Astor continued to support the campaign for Mandela's release until he was finally set free from prison in February 1990 and continued to oppose the apartheid regime until it was finally completely abolished four years later, just before Mandela became the president of South Africa.

David Astor was one of the founders of the Koestler Trust in the 1960s and continued to support the scheme until his death.

The Koestler Trust was set up as a charity to promote creative arts in prisons; David Astor was the Trust's chair for a period.

David Astor died in December 2001 at the age of 89, and is buried in All Saints' parish churchyard, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, in a grave with a simple headstone bearing only his name and years of birth and death.

David Astor bought both burial plots when he learned that Orwell had asked to be buried in an English country churchyard.