Jaume Vicens Vives (Girona, 1910-Lió, 1960)

He became a graduate on Philosophy and Literature (specialized in History) at the University of Barcelona in 1930, having had Pere Bosch i Gimpera and Antonio de la Torre as professors. During the Spanish II Republic he worked as a teacher for the Institut-Escola, and was later appointed assistant professor of the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 1933. His PhD thesis concerning Ferran II i la ciutat de Barcelona (1936) raised a polemic revision of the traditional romantic point of view given to the history of Catalonia at the time. At the end of the Civil War, Franco's regime forced him to leave his tenure at the University. In 1947 he was readmitted, and took the full professorship of Modern History at the University of Saragossa, and the following year the one of History of Modern and Contemporary Spain at the University of Barcelona.

At this time, he began an important renovation regarding the teaching of History, incorporating the new currents of thought prevalent in Europe at that moment. His main personal contributions were at first focused on the Modern History of Catalonia (Juan II de Aragón, 1953; El gran sindicato remensa, 1954; Els Trastàmares, 1956), though he also published overviews and essays of high intellectual value (Aproximación a la historia de España, 1953; Notícia de Catalunya, 1960) besides becoming an important publisher in the field of History.

His keen interest in renovating the methodology in History led him to study Economic History and to stress the importance of the study of the recent past. With these two concerns in mind, the new Faculty of Economics of the University of Barcelona, which began in 1954-55, included the teaching of the Economic History of Spain under his suggestion and responsibility. These years saw him fully devoted to teaching and research in this new field. As a result, the highly praised Manual de Historia Económica de España written jointly with Jordi Nadal was published in 1959. Other works published at that time were Historia social y económica de España y América (a collective project), and Industrials i polítics del segle XIX written jointly with Montserrat Llorens in 1959. This last book was considered to be a brilliant essay on the economic history of Catalonia during the 19th century, together with other articles and essays.

Jaume Vicens died in the city of Lyon in 1960 when he was at the height of his intellectual activity. His legacy on the development and teaching of Spanish Economic History has received worldwide recognition. After his death, some of his papers and essays were gathered and published in 1969 under the title Coyuntura económica y reformismo burgués.