Baron Acton

Baron Acton, of Aldenham in the County of Shropshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 December 1869 for the prominent historian and Liberal Member of Parliament Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Baronet. His son, the second Baron, was a diplomat and also held minor office in the Liberal administrations of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H. Asquith. In 1919 he assumed by Royal license the additional surname of Lyon, which was that of his father-in-law. As of 2007 the titles are held by his grandson, the fourth Baron, who succeeded his father in 1989. He lost his seat in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. However, on 17 April 2000 he was created a life peer as Baron Acton of Bridgnorth, of Aldenham in the County of Shropshire. Consequently, Lord Acton was able to return to the House of Lords where he now sits on the Labour benches.

The Acton Baronetcy, of Aldenham in the County of Shropshire, was created in the Baronetage of England on 17 January 1644 for Edward Acton. He represented Bridgnorth in both the Short Parliament and the Long Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I during the Civil War. His son, the second Baronet, grandson, the third Baronet, and great-grandson, the fourth Baronet, all sat as Members of Parliament for Bridgnorth. On the death of the latter's son, the fifth Baronet, the line of the eldest son of the first Baronet failed.

The title was inherited by the late Baronet's third cousin, the sixth Baronet. He was the son of Edward Acton, who had settled in Besancon in France as a physician; Edward (of Besancon) was son of Walter Acton, the son of Walter Acton second Baronet. He served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Naples. Acton married his niece Marry Anne Acton. Their second son Charles Januarius Edward Acton, mostly known as Cardinal Acton, was a prominent clergyman in the Catholic Church. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, the seventh Baronet. In 1832 he married Marie Louise Pellina von Dalberg, only child and heiress of Emmerich Joseph Wolfgang Heribert von Dalberg, Duke of Dalberg, a member of an ancient Bavarian aristocratic family. In 1833 he assumed by Royal license the surname of Dalberg-Acton. He was succeeded by his son, the eighth Baronet, who in 1869 was elevated to the peerage as Baron Acton.

Acton Baronets, of Aldenham (1644)

*Sir Edward Acton, 1st Baronet (1600-1659)
*Sir Walter Acton, 2nd Baronet (c. 1620-1665)
*Sir Edward Acton, 3rd Baronet (c. 1650-1716)
*Sir Whitmore Acton, 4th Baronet (1678-1732)
*Sir Richard Acton, 5th Baronet (1712-1791)
*Sir John Francis Edward Acton, 6th Baronet (1736-1811)
*Sir Ferdinand Richard Edward Dalberg-Acton, 7th Baronet (1801-1837)
*Sir John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 8th Baronet (1834-1902) (created Baron Acton in 1869)

Barons Acton (1869)

*John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834-1902)
*Richard Maximilian Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron Acton (1870-1924)
*John Emerich Henry Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 3rd Baron Acton (1907-1989)
*Richard Gerald Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 4th Baron Acton (b. 1941)

The Heir Apparent is the present holder's son Hon. John Charles Ferdinand Harold Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 1966)

The former Acton family seat was Aldenham Park in Shropshire, which was sold in 1947.

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
* [http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage/ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page]
* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p145.htm#i1445 www.thepeerage.com]