Eric Hobsbawm

Date of Birth: June 9, 1917

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Date of Death: October 1, 2012

Biography

Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm was a British historian of the 20th century who was renowned for his works on the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism, and nationalism. Born on June 9, 1917, in Alexandria, Egypt, Hobsbawm’s early life was marked by a series of relocations due to the political upheavals of the time. After losing both parents by the age of 14, he moved to Berlin and later to London, where he attended St. Marylebone Grammar School and King’s College, Cambridge. Hobsbawm was a committed Marxist throughout his life, joining the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1936. His major works include “The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848,” “The Age of Capital: 1848–1875,” “The Age of Empire: 1875–1914,” and “The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914–1991.” These books form a quadrilogy that provides a comprehensive analysis of the social, economic, and political transformations that shaped modern history. Hobsbawm’s academic career was equally distinguished. He was a professor at Birkbeck College, University of London, and later became the President of Birkbeck. He also held numerous visiting professorships at institutions around the world. Hobsbawm passed away on October 1, 2012, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most influential historians of his time.

5 Interesting Facts about Eric Hobsbawm

1. Eric Hobsbawm was fluent in several languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian.

2. He was a member of the Communist Party Historians Group, which included other notable historians like E.P. Thompson and Christopher Hill.

3. Hobsbawm’s autobiography, “Interesting Times: A Twentieth-Century Life,” provides a detailed account of his personal experiences and intellectual journey.

4. He was awarded the Balzan Prize for European History since 1900 in 2003.

5. Despite his Marxist beliefs, Hobsbawm was critical of the Soviet Union’s policies, especially after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Prague Spring of 1968.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Eric Hobsbawm

1. “Historians are not prophets.”

2. “Social movements are at once the symptoms and the instruments of progress. Ignore them and statesmanship is irrelevant; fail to use them and it is weak.”

3. “Historians should be neither the servants nor the masters of the state, but its critics.”

4. “The destruction of the past is perhaps the greatest of all crimes.”

5. “Nations without a past are contradictions in terms. What makes a nation is the past, what justifies one nation against others is the past.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

Eric Hobsbawm’s highest net worth is not explicitly documented, but as a prominent historian and academic, his influence and contributions were invaluable rather than financially focused.

Children

Eric Hobsbawm had three children: Julia Hobsbawm, a writer and public relations executive; Andy Hobsbawm, an internet entrepreneur; and Joshua Hobsbawm, who passed away in infancy.