Portal:South East England/Selected biography/15

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Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881), born Benjamin D'Israeli was a British Conservative statesman and literary figure. He served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – the first and thus far only person of Jewish parentage to do so (although Disraeli was baptised in the Anglican Church at an early age). Disraeli's most lasting achievement was the creation of the modern Conservative Party after the Corn Laws schism of 1846.

The end of 1845 and the first months of 1846 were dominated by a battle in parliament between the free traders and the protectionists over the repeal of the Corn Laws, with the latter rallying around Disraeli and Lord George Bentinck. An alliance of pro free-trade Conservatives (the "Peelites"), Radicals, and Whigs carried repeal, and the Conservative Party split: the Peelites moved towards the Whigs, while a "new" Conservative Party formed around the protectionists, led by Disraeli, Bentinck, and Lord Stanley..

Disraeli's friendship with the Bentinck family was cemented in 1848 when Lord Henry Bentinck and Lord Titchfield loaned him £25,000 (equivalent to almost £1,500,000 today) so that he could purchase Hughenden Manor, in Buckingham county. This purchase allowed him to stand for the county, which was "essential" if one was to lead the Conservative Party at the time. He and Mary Anne alternated between Hughenden and several homes in London for the remainder of their marriage.