The Mission of the Acton Institute is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles. Founded in April, 1990, 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. Indeed, his most notable conclusion of this work is that political liberty is the essential condition and guardian of religious liberty. He thereby points to the union of faith and liberty, which has been the inspiration for the mission of the Acton Institute.