Raymond Carr Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences 1999

Sir Raymond Carr (Bath, Great Britain, 1919 - 2015) was one of our greatest contemporary historians, and his work has made an outstanding contribution to our knowledge of 19th and 20th century Spanish history. As John Elliot (1996 Prince of Asturias Social Sciences award winner) states, " his book on Spain between 1808 and 1939 is basic to a better understanding of the era, and the later generation of historians, both within Spain and abroad, have followed up the leads that Carr gives in his book to great benefit." In this and later publications he has provided an overall vision of the contemporary history of Spain that has helped to place Spanish history within a European context and has made a major contribution to providing a greater understanding both of the Civil War and the transition towards democracy."

Throughout his career, he combined teaching activities with research into history. He was President of the Society for Latin American Studies, he was Professor of Latin American History at Oxford, and Principal of St. Antony´s College at this same university.

His main interest lay in the vicissitudes of 19th and 20th century Spain, and his "The Republic and the Civil War in Spain" (1971), "The Spanish tragedy: the Civil War in perspective" (1977), "Spain 1808-1975" (1982), and "Spain, from Dictatorship to Democracy" are all outstanding works. The latter was written in collaboration with the Spanish historian Juan Pablo Fusi and received the ´Espejo´ Award in 1979.

En 1983 he was awarded the "Cruz de Alfonso X el Sabio" (The Cross of Alfonso X the Wise) for his work as a hispanist, and in 1987, after retiring as professor at the University of Oxford, the Queen of England bestowed a knighthood on him.

Raymond Carr died on 19 April, 2015.