Known as a dandy, a novelist, a brilliant debator and England's first and only Jewish prime minister, Disraeli (Earl of Beaconfield) is best remembered for bringing India and the Suez Canal under control of the crown. A Conservative, he was elected to Parliament in 1837 after failing to win election in four earlier elections. After Robert Peel formed a government in 1841, Disraeli was on the outs until 1846. He wrote a trilogy "Coningsby", "Sybil" and "Tancred" expounding his ideas and formed the Young England group as watchdogs over Peel's brand of conservatism. When Peel's government fell, Disraeli gradually became known as the leader of the Conservatives in the Commons.

Disraeli served as chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Derby as prime minister in Conservative governments of 1852, 1858-59 and 1866-68. The 1858-59 Parliament made the admission of Jews to Parliament legal, clearing the way for a Disraeli's prime ministership following Lord Derby's retirement in 1868. Defeated in a general election by William Gladstone that same year, Disraeli faced another six years of opposition which produced another novel entitled "Lothair" in 1870. He also established the Conservative Central Office, considered by some as the forerunner of modern party organization.

Disraeli became prime minister for the second time in 1874 at the age of 70. Acting on his own, he purchased a controlling interest in the Suez Canal conferring the title of Empress of India upon the Queen and in so doing earning himself the title of Earl of Beaconfield in 1876. During the next two years, Disraeli and liberal Leader William Gladstone, clashed over issues surrounding the Bulgarian revolt and the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). Disraeli represented British interests in the Congress of Berlin, 1878, which brought peace as well as Cyprus under British flag. His government was defeated in 1880. Disraeli died the following year.

Britannia Biographies A   Addison, Joseph   Alanbrooke, Lord   Albert, Prince   Alexander, H.R.L.G.   Ambrosius Aurelianus   Arthur, King   Arviragus   Ashe, Geoffrey   Austen, Jane B   Bates, Thomas   Bede, the Venerable   Bedivere, Sir   Bell, Alexander Graham   Blair, Tony   Boudicca   Bradford, John   Burns, Robert C   Caratacus   Carlyle, Thomas   Carnegie, Andrew   Catesby, Robert   Cecil, Robert (Lord Salisbury)   Chaucer, Geoffrey   Churchill, Sir Winston   Claudius, Emperor   Constantine I, Emperor D   Diana, Princess of Wales   Dickens, Charles   Dickens, Cedric Charles   Digby, Sir Everard   Disraeli, Benjamin   Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan   du Maurier, Daphne   Duns Scotus   Dunstan, St. E   Elaine, Queen of Garlot F   Fawkes, Guy   Fleming, Alexander G   Geoffrey of Monmouth   George, St.   Gerald of Wales   Gladstone, William   Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall   Grant, John   Guinevere H   Hadrian, Emperor   Hengest   Hitchcock, Sir Alfred   Hooker, Thomas   Howard, John J   John, Prince   Jones, John Paul   Joseph of Arimathea   Julius Caesar K   Keats, John   Kenneth I, MacAlpin   Kentigern, St.   Keyes, Robert   Knox, John L   Leland, John   Lewis, C.S.   Livingstone, David   Louise, Princess M   Malory, Sir Thomas   Margaret, Princess   Mary, Queen of Scots   Maximus, Magnus   Merlin   Morgan-le-Fay N   Nightingale, Florence   Nimue, Lady of the Lake P   Parker, William (Lord Monteagle)   Peel, Sir Robert   Pelagius   Pepys, Samuel   Percy, Thomas   Philip, Prince   Phyfe, Duncan   Piltdown "Man"   Potter, Beatrix   Priestly, Joseph R   Robert I, the Bruce   Rookwood, Ambrose S   Scott, Sir Walter   Shakespeare, William   Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft   Smith, Adam   Stukeley, William T   Telford, Thomas   Thatcher, Margaret   Thomas, Dylan   Thomas the Rhymer   Tolkien, J.R.R.   Tresham, Francis   Trollope, Anthony   Turner, J.M.W.   Tylor, Sir Edward Burnett   Tyndale, William   Tyndall, John U   Uther Pendragon V   Vortigern W   Walpole, Sir Robert   Wallace, William (Braveheart)   Watt, James   Wilberforce, William   Wintour, Robert   Wintour, Thomas   Wright, Christopher   Wright, John Y   Ygerna (Igraine)