Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg

1834 - Born in Naples, Italy; birth of a British historian and politician

1837 - His father, Sir Richard Acton died

1843-1848 - Embarked on a journey at Oscott under Wiseman

1850 - Went to Munich to study under historian Ignaz von Dollinger

1853 - Travelled to USA

1857 - Went to Rome with Dollinger

1858-1862 - Became the part-owner and contributor to liberal Catholic Rambler

1859-1865 - Member of the Parliament for Carlow

1864 - Pius IX's Quanta Cura and Syllabus of Errors

1864-1868 - Acton's extensive archival researches

1865 - Married Countess Marie von Arco-Valley

1865-1866 - Member of the Parliament for Bridgnorth

1869 - Was offered a peerage by Gladstone for his efforts under Liberal political causes

1869 - Created Baron Acton by Gladstone

1874 - Acton responded to Gladstone's anti-Vatican articles in four letters to The Times

1875 - Feared excommunication but he was spared

1877 - Lectures include "The History of Freedom in Antiquity" and "The History of Freedom in Christianity"

1880-1885 - Advisor to Gladstone's second ministry and advocate of Irish home rule

1887 - Made observation that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" in his letter 

1889 - Review of James Bryce's American Commonwealth - became the editor of the Cambridge Modern History, which under his direction became a model of careful scholarship 

1892-1895 - Lord in Waiting to Queen Victoria 

1895 - He was appointed as Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University; gave out lectures on modern history and the French Revolution

          - Also the editor of Cambridge Modern History

1902 - Died at Tegernsee