| Type: | cardinal |
| Honorific-Prefix: | His Eminence |
| Charles Acton | |
| Prefect of the Congregation for Indulgences and Relics | |
| Appointed: | 22 December 1846 |
| Term End: | 23 June 1847 |
| Ordination: | 1827 |
| Cardinal: | 18 February 1839 (in pectore) |
| Rank: | Cardinal-Priest |
| Created Cardinal By: | Gregory XVI |
| Other Post: | Cardinal-Priest of S. Marco (1846–47) |
| Birth Name: | Charles Januarius Edward Acton |
| Birth Date: | 6 March 1803 |
| Birth Place: | Naples, Kingdom of Naples |
| Death Place: | Naples, Two Sicilies |
| Buried: | Vaults of Naples Cathedral |
| Church: | Roman Catholic Church |
| Previous Post: | Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria della Pace (1842–46) |
| Parents: | Sir John Acton, Bt. and Mary Anne Acton (née Acton) |
| Alma Mater: | Westminster School |
| Coat Of Arms: | Coat of arms of Charles Januarius Acton.svg |
Charles Januarius Edward Cardinal Acton (6 March 1803 – 23 June 1847) was an English Roman Catholic prelate.[1]
Born in 1803 in Naples, he was the second son of Sir John Francis Acton, 6th Baronet. The family, a cadet branch of the Actons of Aldenham Park, near Bridgnorth, in Shropshire, had settled in Naples some time before his birth. His father was first minister of the Kingdom of Naples when he succeeded to the family estate and title through the death of his cousin, Sir Richard Acton, 5th Baronet. The future Cardinal's education was English, as he and his elder brother were sent to England on their father's death in 1811 to a school near London kept by the Abbé Quéqué. They were then sent to Westminster School, with the understanding that their religion was not to be interfered with. Yet, they not only were sent to this Protestant school, but they had a Protestant clergyman as tutor.[2]
In 1819, they went on to Magdalene College, Cambridge.