Benjamin Disraeli

Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) was born in London, the son of a Jewish literary scholar, and baptized into the Church of England as a boy, which let him sit in Parliament, then barred to unconverted Jews until 1858. His flamboyant, often autobiographical novels, including Vivian Grey (1826), Henrietta Temple (1837), Coningsby (1844) and Sybil (1845), made him a literary celebrity before he rose to lead the Conservative Party. He served twice as prime minister, in 1868 and 1874–1880, was created Earl of Beaconsfield in 1876, and remains the only British prime minister of Jewish birth.