Edward David Joseph Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (born 4 February 1949) is a British academic and former

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

. His title from birth is

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

but he is never referred to as such professionally or on the university website. Born in

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, Edward Acton is the 4th son of John Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 3rd Baron Acton and great-grandson of the historian

John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, Liberal politician, and writer. A strong advocate for individua ...

. Through his maternal line he is also the great-grandson of the Nobel Prize-winning scientist

John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh ( ; 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919), was an English physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904 "for his investigations of the densities of the most important gases and for his discovery ...

. He was educated at St George's College, Harare, the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

(BA) and at

St Edmund's College, Cambridge St Edmund's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. Founded in 1896, it is the second-oldest of the three Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which accept ...

(PhD). He worked at the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

, and then held academic posts at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, before becoming Professor of Modern European History at the

in 1991. He was appointed Dean of the School of History at UEA in 1999, and served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic) from 2004 until 2009, when he was appointed

. He is an Honorary Fellow of

and now lives in Cambridge. He was portrayed by

Ade Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sit ...

in '' The Trick'',

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

's 2021 dramatisation of the Climategate crisis. His son-in-law is

David Runciman David Walter Runciman, 4th Viscount Runciman of Doxford (born 1 March 1967), is an English academic and podcaster who until 2024 taught politics and history at the University of Cambridge, where he was Professor of Politics. From October 2014 t ...

Publications

*''Alexander Herzen and the Role of the Intellectual Revolutionary'' (1979) *''Rethinking the Russian Revolution'' (1990) *''Russia: the Tsarist and Soviet Legacy'', second edition. Longman, London and New York 1995, . *''Critical Companion to the Russian Revolution 1914-21'' (co-edited, 1997) *''The Soviet Union: A Documentary History'' (2 vols, 2005, 2007)

References

1949 births Living people Alumni of St. George's College, Harare Alumni of the University of York Alumni of St Edmund's College, Cambridge Vice-chancellors of the University of East Anglia Academics of the University of East Anglia Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Younger sons of barons {{Academic-administrator-stub