December 1

In an election held on November 28, 1919, Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor, was elected to the British House of Commons. Lady Astor was the first woman elected to serve in that august body. She assumed her seat on the 1st in 1919. Whatever her contributions to the political life of Britain, and there were many, she should also be remembered for having observed, “The penalty for success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.”

In a wonderful verbal exchange with Winston Churchill, Astor said to Churchill “If I were your wife I'd put arsenic your coffee!” to which Churchill replied ”And if I were your husband I'd drink it!” In the 1950s she would use this line in a conversation with Senator Joseph McCarty. There is no record of McCarthy’s response but there are indications that it did not go over terribly well.