Acton, Lord John Emerich Edward Dalberg (1834–1902)
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An independent scholar and part of the liberal Catholic movement, Acton was an advocate of the use of scientific methods of enquiry in history and was most interested in the study of liberty. He helped to found the Cambridge Modern History series and the English Historical Review, and as Regius Professor of History at Cambridge and was instrumental in revitalising the school there.
- Forenames:
- John Emerich Edward Dalberg
- Surname:
- Acton
- Title:
- First Baron Acton
- Dates:
- 1834–1902
- Institutions:
- Cambridge Modern History
- Significant posts:
- Regius Professor of Modern History, University of Cambridge (Trinity College)
- Influences:
- Dillinger, Johann Ignaz von
Ranke, Leopold von - Contemporaries:
- Bryce, James
Creighton, Mandell - Influenced:
- Butterfield, Herbert
- Themes:
- History of liberty
Liberal Catholicism - Biographies:
- Blackwell Dictionary of Historians
Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - Obituaries:
- Times
Bibliography
Personal papers
Significant publications
- Lord Acton's History of Liberty: a Study of his Library, with an Edited Text of his History of Liberty Notes, ed. George Watson (Aldershot, 1994)
- John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Selected writings of Lord Acton, ed. J. Rufus Fears (Indianapolis, 1985–88)
Other reading
- Doris S. Goldstein, 'The origins and early years of the English Historical Review', The English Historical Review, 101 (1986), 6–19
- Doris S. Goldstein, 'The organizational development of the British historical profession 1884–1921', Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, 55 (1982), 180–93
