On 26 July 1858 Lionel de Rothschild became the first Jewish Member of the UK House of Commons.

Lionel de Rothschild was actually elected to the House of Commons in 1847 as one of four MPs representing the City of London. Jews were not permitted to take up a seat in the UK Parliament because the oath sworn was a Christian one.

Lord John Russell the Prime Minster introduced a Jewish Disabilities Bill which would have removed this obstacle. Although the Bill was passed in the House of Commons it failed to win support in the House of Lords.

Rothschild resigned, contested the By-election and won again. In 1850 he refused to swear an oath on the Christian Bible and wished only to use a Hebrew one. He was again made to leave when he refused to use the words “upon the true faith of a Christian”.

Another Jewish Disabilities Bill was yet again rejected by the Lords. In 1852, Rothschild won his seat at the General Election but the Jewish Disabilities Bill was thrown out by the Lords.

Finally, in the Jews Relief Act 1858, the House of Lords agreed to a proposal to allow each house to decide its own oath. On 26 July 1858, Rothschild took the oath with covered head, substituting “so help me, Jehovah” for the ordinary form of oath, and thereupon took his seat as the first Jewish member of Parliament.  

He was re-elected in general elections in 1859 and 1865, but defeated in 1868; he was returned unopposed in a by-election in 1869 but defeated a second time in the general election in 1874.

On 3 June 1879 he suffered a seizure and died the next morning at 148 Piccadilly in London, aged 70.