Sir John Francis Edward Acton, 6th Baronet (3 June 1736 – 12 August 1811)[2] was a French-born English gentleman who served as Commander of the naval forces of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and later as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Naples under Ferdinand IV.

[5] Concerning the calamitous disembarkation in which the Spanish were drawn into a trap by the feigned retreat of the Algerines, the travel writer Henry Swinburne wrote that the Spaniards would have been "broken and slaughtered to a man ... had not Mr. Acton, the Tuscan commander, cut his cables and let his ships drive in to shore just as the enemy was coming on us full gallop.

"[6] In 1779 Queen Maria Carolina of Naples persuaded her brother the Grand-Duke Leopold of Tuscany to allow Acton, who had been recommended to her by Prince Caramanico, to undertake the reorganisation of the Neapolitan navy.

[5] The Neapolitan fleet, which when Acton entered the service of Naples had been practically non-existent, he had built up by 1798 to 120 ships with 1,200 cannon, while the land forces had increased fourfold from 15 to 60 thousand.

To re-establish order and with the consent of the Queen and the help of Ruffo, Acton established at Naples the Junta of State, a reign of terror during which many prominent citizens were thrown into prison or executed.

[7] In 1804 Acton was removed from power, on the demand of France, but nevertheless advised the king, who had agreed to an alliance with Napoleon, to permit British and Russian troops to land at Naples.

"By raising the awning twenty feet, removing the guns, and robing the masts in silk, two spacious rooms were given, and these were most splendidly decorated; and when lighted up in the evening, really presented a fairy-like appearance, while the music that floated over the calm waters of this beautiful bay was softened.

[12] By his wife he had three children:[5] He died at Palermo on 12 August 1811, aged 75, and a "magnificent funeral was prepared for him; but during the procession, so tremendous a shower of rain came on, that the body remained abandoned in the street for a long time.

"[13] Acton was buried in the church of Santa Ninfa dei Crociferi,[7] where survives his wall monument,[14] displaying sculpted (all in relief) his bust within a laurel circlet and antique trophy of arms above a pedimented sarcophagus in the form of a double-bodied winged Sphinx, inscribed in Latin as follows: