Colonial Despatches

Benjamin Disraeli was born in London on 21 December 1804.1 He was educated privately, entered Lincoln's Inn in 1824, and won a seat in Parliament as a Conservative in 1837, representing the borough of Maidstone.2 In 1841 he was elected to represent Shrewsbury, and in 1847 Buckinghamshire.3 In September 1848, Disraeli was chosen leader of the Conservative party in the House of Commons, remaining until whichConservative government was dissolved and a coalition government established in 1852, when he became chancellor of the exchequer as well.4

He returned as chancellor of the exchequer and leader of the House of Commons during the Derby administrations in 1858 and in 1867.5 When Lord Derby then retired, Disraeli became leader of the party and prime minister until defeated by Gladstone's Liberals in 1868.6 He led the Conservatives to victory again in 1874 and remained in office until 1880.7 In 1876 he was made Earl of Beaconsfield in 1876 and moved to the House of Lords, where he remained until his death on 19 April 1881.8

Throughout his distinquished political career, Disraeli also acquired a considerable reputation as an author of both fiction and nonfiction.9

• 1. Jonathan Parry, Disraeli, Benjamin, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• 2. Ibid.
• 3. Ibid.
• 4. Dictionary of National Biography (London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1900-) 5, 1006-22.
• 5. Jonathan Parry, Disraeli, Benjamin, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• 6. Ibid.
• 7. Ibid.
• 8. Ibid.
• 9. Ibid.