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