Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Dugdale Astley, 3rd Baronet (19 February 1828 – 10 October 1894) was an English soldier and sportsman, son of the 2nd Baronet (created 1821) Sir Francis Dugdale Astley and wife Emma Dorothea Lethbridge and a descendant of Lord Astley.
From 1848 to 1859 he was in the Scots Fusilier Guards, serving in the Crimean War and retiring as a Lieutenant-Colonel. On 22 May 1858 he married an heiress, Eleanor Blanche Mary Corbett, of Elsham Hall, who died on 7 June 1897, daughter of Thomas George Corbett, of Elsham Hall (– 5 July 1868) and wife (m. 15 December 1837) Lady Mary Noel Beauclerk (28 December 1810 – 29 November 1850), daughter of the 8th Duke of St Albans, and thereafter devoted himself to sports including horse racing and boxing. He was a popular figure on the turf, known familiarly as "the Mate" and for winning and losing large sums of money.
He succeeded to the baronetcy in 1873. From 1874 to 1880 was the Conservative Member of Parliament for North Lincolnshire. Just before his death in October 1894, he published some entertaining reminiscences under the title of Fifty Years of My Life. This contains the first recorded appearance of the phrase "like a duck to water" - I always took to shooting like a duck to water.
Descendants include Samantha Cameron, wife of Conservative Leader David Cameron.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Montague Cholmeley Rowland Winn |
Member of Parliament for North Lincolnshire 1874–1880 With: Rowland Winn |
Succeeded by Robert Laycock Rowland Winn |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Francis Dugdale Astley |
Baronet (of Everley) 1873–1894 |
Succeeded by Francis Astley-Corbett |