born Dec. 21, 1804, London, Eng.
died April 19, 1881, London
British politician and author who was twice prime minister (1868, 187480).
Of Italian-Jewish descent, he was baptized a Christian as a child, which enabled his future career, because until 1858, practitioners of Judaism were excluded from Parliament. He first made his mark as a writer with Vivian Grey (182627); later novels included Coningsby (1844) and Sybil (1845). He was elected to Parliament as a Conservative in 1837. In 1845 he made a series of brilliant speeches against Sir Robert Peel 's decision to repeal the Corn Laws , which helped him to become leader of the Conservatives. He served three stints as chancellor of the Exchequer (1852, 185859, 186568) and played a prominent role in passing the Reform Bill of 1867 . He was prime minister briefly in 1868, then returned in his second ministry (187480) to promote social reform. An advocate of a strong foreign policy, he secured a triumph for imperial prestige with his acquisition of Suez Canal shares and won concessions for England at the Congress of Berlin . A trusted friend of Queen Victoria , he introduced a bill conferring on her the title Empress of India. After the Conservatives were defeated in 1880, he kept the party leadership and finished his political novel Endymion (1880).