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

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

. His title from birth is

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certa ...

but is never referred as such professionally or on the University website. Born in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

, Edward Acton is the 4th son of

John Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 3rd Baron Acton 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, Liguria, Italy, the eldest son and thi ...

and great-grandson of the historian John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton. 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 mathematician and physicist who made extensive contributions to science. He spent all of his academic career at the University of Cambridge. A ...

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

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for post-nominals) is a collegiate research university, located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, co ...

(BA) and at

St Edmund's College, Cambridge St Edmund's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. Founded in 1896, it is the second-oldest of the four Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which accept only students reading for postgraduate degr ...

(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 English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...

, and then held academic posts at

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, 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 in '' The Trick'',

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

's 2021 dramatisation of the Climategate crisis.

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