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Rafael Altamira
1866–1951
A Spanish historian, jurist, and educator, he brought the study of Spain’s past to a wide audience and also worked internationally in the cause of peace and justice. His life stretched from the intellectual debates of late 19th-century Spain to exile in Mexico after the Spanish Civil War.
1 Audiobook
A History of Spain
by Rafael Altamira, Charles E. (Charles Edward) Chapman
About the author
Born in Alicante on February 10, 1866, Rafael Altamira studied law at the University of Valencia and went on to build a career that crossed history, education, and public life. He became closely connected with Spain’s reform-minded educational world and later held a chair in the history of Spanish law at the University of Oviedo.
Altamira is remembered for helping shape modern historical writing in Spain and for writing books that made Spanish history accessible to general readers as well as scholars. Alongside his academic work, he took part in international cultural and legal initiatives, and his name was associated with efforts in support of international understanding and peace.
After the upheaval of the Spanish Civil War, he lived in exile in Mexico, where he died on February 1, 1951. His legacy links scholarship with a broader civic ideal: the belief that history, education, and law could all serve a more humane public life.