Ferdinando Acton



Ferdinando Acton (16 July 1832, in Naples – 18 February 1891, in Rome) was an Italian naval officer, admiral, and politician who served both as Minister of War and Minister of the Navy.

He was descended from a noble family which had originated in England before moving to Tuscany, then a part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. He served in the Two Sicilies Real Marina ("Royal Navy"), then in the Regia Marina ("Royal Navy") of the unified Kingdom of Italy.

His grandfather was General Joseph Edward Acton (1737-1830), brother of Sir John Acton, 6th Baronet, commander of the naval forces of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and prime minister of the Kingdom of Naples. His elder brother was Guglielmo Acton, who also was the Italian Minister of the Navy, and his son was Alfredo Acton, a Regia Marinaadmiral. His sister Laura remarried in 1864, marrying Marco Minghetti, then prime minister of Italy.