Astor [née Langhorne], Nancy Witcher, Viscountess Astor (1879–1964), society hostess and politician, was born at Danville, Virginia, on 19 May 1879, the eighth child in a family of eleven. Her father, Chiswell Dabney Langhorne (1843–1919), a veteran of the American Civil War, had made his fortune in railway construction and bought an estate at ...
Article
Astor [née Langhorne], Nancy Witcher, Viscountess Astor (1879–1964), society hostess and politician
Martin Pugh
Image
Astor, Nancy Witcher, Viscountess Astor (1879–1964)
Maker: George Charles Beresford
In
Audio
Nancy Astor, society hostess and politician
In
Nancy Astor, society hostess and politician
Image
Buller, Charles (1806–1848)
Maker: Edward Scriven
In
Article
Buller, Charles (1806–1848), politician and wit
H. J. Spencer
Buller, Charles (1806–1848), politician and wit, was born in Calcutta on 6 August 1806, the son of Charles Buller (1774–1848), civil servant in India and politician, and his wife, Barbara Isabella Kirkpatrick (d. 1849), daughter of Major-General William Kirkpatrick of the East India Company...
Article
Dick, Quintin (1777–1858), politician and socialite
Mary S. Millar
Dick, Quintin (1777–1858), politician and socialite, was born in March 1777 in Dublin, the eldest of four children of Samuel Dick (d. 1802), East India proprietor and merchant, and his wife, Charlotte, daughter of Nicholas Forster of Tullaghan, co. Monaghan, Ireland. Educated at ...
Article
Earle, Giles (c. 1678–1758), politician and wit
Philip Carter
Earle, Giles (c. 1678–1758), politician and wit, was born about 1678 at the family residence, Eastcourt House, Crudwell, near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, the sixth son of Sir Thomas Earle MP, a merchant and mayor of Bristol, and his wife, Elizabeth Ellinor Jackson. He was educated at the ...
Image
Hare, James (bap. 1747, d. 1804)
Maker: Sir Joshua Reynolds
In
Article
Hare, James (bap. 1747, d. 1804), social celebrity and politician
Philip Carter
Hare, James (bap. 1747, d. 1804), social celebrity and politician, was baptized on 9 April 1747 at Somerton, Somerset, the second son of Joseph Hare, an apothecary at Wells, and his wife, Frances. For many years he was wrongly identified as the son of one ...
Article
Mosley [née Curzon], Lady Cynthia Blanche (1898–1933), politician and society figure
Duncan Sutherland
Mosley [née Curzon], Lady Cynthia Blanche (1898–1933), politician and society figure, was born at The Priory, Reigate, Surrey, on 23 August 1898, the second of three daughters of George Nathaniel Curzon, later first Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (1859–1925), and his first wife, the American heiress ...
Image
Selwyn, George Augustus (1719–1791)
Maker: Sir Joshua Reynolds
In
Article
Selwyn, George Augustus (1719–1791), wit and politician
Philip Carter
Selwyn, George Augustus (1719–1791), wit and politician, was born on 11 August 1719 and baptized at Chislehurst, Kent, on 25 August, the second son of the three children of John Selwyn (1688–1751) of Matson, near Gloucester, and Mary (1690/91–1777), daughter of General Thomas Farrington...
Article
Sharp, Richard [called Conversation Sharp] (1759–1835), politician and wit
David Knapman
Sharp, Richard [called Conversation Sharp] (1759–1835), politician and wit, was born in the garrison of St John's, Newfoundland, the elder son of Richard Sharp (1737–1765), a British army officer, and Elizabeth Adams (1739–1799), a citizen of St John's. He was related to the ...
Image
Villiers, George, second duke of Buckingham (1628–1687)
Maker: John Michael Wright
In
Article
Villiers, George, second duke of Buckingham (1628–1687), politician and wit
Bruce Yardley
Villiers, George, second duke of Buckingham (1628–1687), politician and wit, was born on 30 January 1628 at Wallingford House, Westminster, the third child of George Villiers, first duke of Buckingham (1592–1628), courtier and royal favourite, and Lady Katherine Manners (later Katherine MacDonnell; 1603?–1649), eldest daughter of the ...