Antonio Plaza, social historian and member of ASIHF, has passed away
Antonio Plaza, a member of ASIHF since its founding and one of the great social historians of the railroad, passed away last Tuesday, June 10. I met Antonio at the turn of the century, when he came to the Historical Railroad Archives in search of documentation for his doctoral dissertation. We soon became close friends, and he quickly became part of the community we were naturally forming— many researchers—which eventually led to the creation of our association.
It is worth noting that, from that time on, he participated in many of the activities we carried out through the FFE’s Railway History Program, such as conferences, seminars, and the publication of articles in TST and books, a testament to which is this presentation at the 4th Railway History Congress (Málaga, 2006).
Antonio was born in Bustarviejo in 1951 and devoted himself to teaching, rising to the rank of full professor at the Blas de Otero Secondary School, located in Madrid’s La Latina neighborhood. But in addition to this vocation, Antonio carried within him the mark of the historian’s craft—a mark entirely removed from the academic rigidity into which the field has evolved. For him, history was a commitment to a set of values that lay outside this sphere. That is why he devoted a large part of his research career to workers, at a time when this topic had fallen off the agenda.
His major research project focused on Spanish railway unionism prior to 1936. Under the guidance of one of Spain’s leading historians, Manuel Pérez Ledesma, he submitted this work as a doctoral dissertation at the Autonomous University of Madrid, where it was awarded the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters’ Special Prize for the 2000–2004 academic year. As he noted in the foreword to his publication, went on to occupy “a prominent place in contemporary social history, which, little by little and despite the ups and downs, we are all building together.” The thesis was indeed published by the FFE in 2012 in its Railway History Collection under the title Railway Unionism in Spain: From Mutual Societies to Industrial Unions (1870–1936). Not only was it the first work on railway unionism, but, given its quality, it has become the seminal monograph in this field of research.
Otra de sus grandes aportaciones fue el estudio de la biografía y obra de Luisa Carnés, componente de Las Sinsombrero, mediante la publicación de varios libros, capítulos de libros y artículos, que han sacado del silencio a una mujer cuyas aportaciones al feminismo y a la cultura fueron muy significativas. Esta circunstancia le llevó a adentrarse en la historia cultural con trabajos dedicados al teatro y la música. Me dice su hija Mónica, que en octubre se publicará una obra, ahora póstuma, dedicada a Luisa Carnés. Será el momento de rendirle un merecido homenaje.
Antonio was a warm, humble, and kind-hearted person, and a tireless worker, which easily earned him the affection and respect of all of us who knew him. But he was also a man of firm convictions, which he defended with passion and intelligence. His contribution to the memory of workers is truly remarkable, and his work as a railway historian makes him a role model. We will miss him, but we will remember him as a good friend we could always count on and as a great social historian. May the earth rest lightly on you.
Miguel Muñoz Rubio
12 de junio de 2026