Eric hobsbawm brief biography

British academic historian and Marxist historiographer (1917–2012)

"Hobsbawm" redirects here. For the British businessman, son of Eric Hobsbawm, see Andy Hobsbawm. For the British academic, daughter of Eric Hobsbawm, see Julia Hobsbawm.

Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism.

His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" (The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848, The Age of Capital: 1848–1875 and The Age of Empire: 1875–1914) and the "short 20th century" (The Age of Extremes), and an edited volume that introduced the influential idea of "invented traditions".

A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work.^[1]

Hobsbawm was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and spent his childhood mainly in Vienna and Berlin. Following the death of his parents and the rise to powe