The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty was founded in 1990 in Grand Rapids, Michigan by Father Robert A. Sirico and Kris Alan Mauren. The Acton Institute is named in honor of John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton (1834-1902), 1st Baron Acton of Aldenham and the historian of freedom. Known as “the magistrate of history,” Lord Acton was one of the great personalities of the nineteenth century. Widely considered one of the most learned Englishmen of his time, Lord Acton made the history of liberty his life’s work.