First female member of parliament lady

Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor, Companion of Honour (CH), (May 19, – May 2, ) was the first woman to serve as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the British House of Commons. She was the wife of Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor. Born in the United States, her first marriage to Robert Gould Shaw ended in divorce. She moved to England in In she married the future Viscount Astor in , who was himself elected to Parliament in When he succeeded to the title in and entered the House of Lords, Lady Astor stood for and won his vacant seat in the lower house. She retained her seat until her retirement in During her tenure, she did much to encourage women to enter the civil service, the police and to promote education reform.

Her support for German re-armament because she saw the Third Reich as a potential ally in the battle against communism and because she shared Adolf Hitler's hatred of Jews and dislike of Catholics, however, meant that as World War II her views were out of sym