Benjamin Disraeli

Disraeli was born and brought up in London at the beginning of the 19th century. The son of Jewish parents, he was baptised as an Anglican. Disraeli wrote several novels before deciding to go into politics in the early 1830s. He was eventually elected as a Conservative MP and became Prime Minister in 1868 and 1874. Despite not being a practising Jew, Disraeli often faced anti-Semitic prejudice. He won working class support owing to policies which improved the health and living conditions of the poor. At the same time, he continued to expand Britain's overseas empire.