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Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg, 1834-1902 (1st Baron Acton and historian)

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1834 - 1902

Biography

John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton (1834-1902), 1st Baron Acton, historian, was born in Naples on 10 January 1834. His father was Sir Ferdinand Richard Acton (1801-1837), 7th Baronet, son of John Francis Edward Acton. His mother was Countess Marie Dalberg (d. 1860), heiress to one of the oldest of the German noble houses, who in 1840 married Granville George Leveson-Gower (1815-1891), 2nd Earl Granville. Acton studied in Munich under the church historian Ignaz von Döllinger. In 1859 he became the Liberal M.P. for the Irish constituency of Carlow, and in 1869 he accepted a peerage. During this time, Acton acquired The rambler, and developed it as a liberal Catholic journal dedicated to discussing social, political and theological matters. The journal closed in 1864, and Acton began work on a 'History of the papacy during the last three centuries'. For this purpose he moved to the continent and carried out research in libraries and archives. During 1869-1870, he attended the first Vatican Council in Rome. Acton was forced to abandon his papal history in the late 1870s, largely because of the problems he faced in acquiring the evidence he required in Italy. He turned to a new project, 'The history of freedom', which he worked on while living on the continent. In 1895 he was appointed Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University. He gave lectures on the French Revolution and modern history, and was chiefly responsible for organising the Cambridge modern history. Acton died at Tegernsee, Bavaria, on 19 June 1902.

Found in 13 Collections and/or Records:

 File

1st Baron Acton: letters to John Long Scott, 1875-1877

 File
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.9750/256-261
Scope and Contents From the Fonds:

Comprises single items or small collections, chiefly correspondence, donated to or purchased by Cambridge University Library. Together with a number of items and fragments found in Cambridge University Library books and bindings.

Dates: 1875-1877
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Series

1ST LORD ACTON to H.M. BUTLER, 1896-1897

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.7339/1-4
Scope and Contents From the Fonds:

Many relating to Cambridge University and Cambridge University Library.

Dates: 1896-1897
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Series

ACTON

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.7339/5
Scope and Contents

A book account with Williams & Norgate, London

Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Fonds

John Arthur Douglas Bloomfield, 2nd Baron Bloomfield: Letter to 1st Lord Acton

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.4251/112
Scope and Contents From the Fonds:

Artificial collection of single item or small collection accessions. Mainly correspondence but includes other papers.

Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Fonds

John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton: Letter to Richard Maximilian Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Lord Acton, 1891

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.4251/8
Scope and Contents From the Fonds:

Artificial collection of single item or small collection accessions. Mainly correspondence but includes other papers.

Dates: 1891
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Item

Letter from 1st Baron Acton to John Willis Clark, 28 May 1895

 Item
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.8954/3
Scope and Contents

Thanks for information about ceremonial [installation as Regius Professor of Modern History]

Dates: 28 May 1895
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Item

Letter from 1st Baron Acton to John Willis Clark, 8 Mar. 1896

 Item
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.8954/5
Scope and Contents

Letter of introduction for F. Ehrle, Vatican Librarian, 'one of the most learned men in Rome'

Dates: 8 Mar. 1896
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Item

Letter from 1st Baron Acton to Mrs Clark, 5 Feb. 1880-5 Feb. 1900 (Circa. No year given)

 Item
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.8954/2
Scope and Contents

Acceptance

Dates: 5 Feb. 1880-5 Feb. 1900 (Circa. No year given)
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Item

Letter from 1st Baron Acton to Mrs Clark, 24 Jan. 1896

 Item
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.8954/4
Scope and Contents

Declining invitation; Parliament meets then

Dates: 24 Jan. 1896
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Series

Letter from John Acton, 1st Lord Acton to Stephen Paget (1855-1926) [Tegernsee], 29 Aug. 1900

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.8812/71
Scope and Contents

Glad to know from J.J. Thomson that Paget is writing the life of his father [Sir James Paget (1814-99), surgeon]; 'I sought every opportunity of conversing with him, but we exchanged only very few letters'; reminiscences; Lord Houghton's opposition to Paget's father's proposed membership of a club; suggested enemies: Sir W. Fergusson, Cooper, Lawrence, Liston, Syme; Paget did not think much of Gull

Dates: 29 Aug. 1900
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Series

Photograph of a painting of Lord Acton's Wedding, 1865 (circa)

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.9563/79
Scope and Contents

In Schloss Chapel, St. Martin, Upper Austria. The wedding took place 1 August 1865.

Dates: 1865 (circa)
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Fonds

Sir Edmund Maunde Thompson: Correspondence to 1st Lord Acton, 1900

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.4251/1390-1391
Scope and Contents From the Fonds:

Artificial collection of single item or small collection accessions. Mainly correspondence but includes other papers.

Dates: 1900
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
 Fonds

Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff: Letter to Lord Acton, 1900

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.4251/560
Scope and Contents From the Fonds:

Artificial collection of single item or small collection accessions. Mainly correspondence but includes other papers.

Dates: 1900
Conditions Governing Access: From the Fonds: Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

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