one of four Members of Parliament for the City of London constituency. Because Jews were at that point still barred from sitting in the chamber due to the Christian oath required to be sworn in, Prime Minister Lord John Russell introduced a Jewish Disabilities Bill to remove the problem with the oath. In 1848, the bill was approved by the House of Commons but was twice rejected by the House of Lords. After being rejected again by the Upper House in 1849, Rothschild resigned his seat and stood again winning in a by-election to strengthen his claim. In 1850, he entered the House of Commons to take his seat but refused to swear on a Christian Bible asking to use only the Hebrew Bible. This was permitted but when omitting the words "upon the true faith of a Christian" from the oath he was required to leave. In 1851, a new Jewish Disabilities Bill was defeated in the House of Lords. In the 1852 general election, Rothschild was again elected but the next year the bill was again defeated in the upper house. 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. Personal life and family A patron of thoroughbred horse racing, under the assumed name of "Mr Acton", his colt Sir Bevys won the 1879 Epsom Derby. In 1836, Lionel de Rothschild married his first cousin Baroness Charlotte von Rothschild (1819–1884), daughter of Baron Carl Mayer von Rothschild of the Rothschild banking family of Naples. They had the following children: Leonora (1837–1911) Evelina (1839–1866) Nathan Mayer (1840–1915) Alfred Charles (1842–1918) Leopold (1845–1917) Illness and death Lionel de Rothschild suffered from gout for more than 20 years. He had a seizure on 3 June 1879 and died the next morning in his city home at 148 Piccadilly in London, aged 70. His body was interred at the Willesden Jewish Cemetery in the North London suburb of Willesden.