John Emerich Henry Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 3rd Baron Acton (born Dalberg-Acton; 15 December 1907 – 23 January 1989), was a British peer and soldier.

Early life and education

Acton was born in

Bordighera Bordighera (; , locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy). Geography Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, the French coast is visible from the town. Having the Capo Sant'Ampel ...

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

, Italy, the eldest son and third of nine children born to Richard Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron Acton, a diplomat in the foreign service. His mother was Dorothy Lyon, the only child of Thomas Henry Lyon, DL, of Appleton Hall, Cheshire. The fourth generation of his family abroad, the 2nd Lord Acton and his children officially became British citizens in 1911 by Act of Parliament. The family was living in Germany when the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out. They were temporarily detained in

Baden Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with France, ...

in 1914. In 1915, Lord Acton became

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. In 1919, his father added the additional surname and arms of Lyon when Lady Acton inherited from her father. His mother died in 1923, when his youngest sister was just 2. He was educated at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He succeeded to the family titles upon the death of his father in 1924. His only brother, Richard William Heribert Peter Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (1909–1946), was killed in a plane crash in Gambia in 1946.

Honours

In December 1945, Acton was appointed to the Military Division of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

as a Member. In February 1947, he was appointed to be a Deputy Lieutenant of the

County of Salop Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

but resigned his commission in November the same year because he stopped living in the county. In the

1964 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1964 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1964 to celebra ...

, Acton was appointed to the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

as a Companion.

Personal life

Acton was a devout Catholic. He was a founder and president of the multiracial National Club in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

Family

He married Daphne Strutt (d. 2003), daughter of The 4th Baron Rayleigh, on 25 November 1931. The couple had eleven children: *Pelline Margot Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 24 December 1932) *Charlotte Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (1934–1935) *Catherine Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 30 December 1939) * Richard Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 4th Baron Acton (30 July 1941 – 10 October 2010) *John Charles Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 26 January 1943 — d. 25 December 2016) *Robert Peter Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 23 June 1946) *Jill Mary Joan Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 15 June 1947) *Professor Edward David Joseph Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 4 February 1949) *Peter Hedley Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 27 March 1950) *Mary Anne Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 30 March 1951) *Jane Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 25 January 1954) He died in

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, Spain in 1989.''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995''

References

1907 births 1989 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

3 Members of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Deputy lieutenants of Shropshire People from Bordighera Rhodesian Roman Catholics English Roman Catholics 20th-century Roman Catholics Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge {{UK-baron-stub