Lord Acton Biography

John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian and politician who had once served as a Member of Parliament for Bridgnorth and Carlow Borough. He was called the ‘magistrate of history’ and considered to be one of the most prominent and learned Englishmen of the 19th century. He was well versed in several languages like English, French, German and Italian and was personally acquainted with several noted historians and philosophers from Europe and America. He is very famous for his remark, ‘Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. He was an independent scholar who believed in the using scientific methods to study history and also played a significant role in the liberal Catholic movement. He studied under the noted church historian Ignaz von Dollinger and was deeply influenced by him. He was interested in politics from an early age and became a member of the House of Commons from the Irish constituency of Carlow. He spent much of his time traveling around the intellectual centers in the Europe and the United States. A strong defender of religious and political freedom, he served as the editor of the journal ‘The Rambler’ and wrote extensively on topics related to social, political, and religious ideas and issues.