The Complutense University of Madrid, in Spanish Universidad Complutense de Madrid, is an important Spanish university, located in Madrid.

Its origins lie in the middle ages, when King Sancho IV of Castile created the Studium General on May 20, 1293. In 1499, Pope Alexander VI granted the request of one of its former pupils, Cardinal Cisneros, to convert it into a full university; this was named the Universitas Complutensis, after Complutum, which was the Latin name of Alcalá de Henares, where it was located.

In 1836 the university was moved to Madrid, with the name of Universidad Central de Madrid. In 1970 the university returned to its original name. When, later, the people of Alcalá succeded in reestablishing a university in the old buildings, they had to name it Universidad de Alcalá de Henares .

The Universidad Complutense is the largest university in Spain having, at the end of 2003, more than 98,000 students, with nearly 9,500 workers, of which nearly 6000 are involved in teaching duties.

Famous alumni

• Francisco de Quevedo - Spanish classic writer
• Adolfo Suárez - first democratically elected president after the Franco regime
• José Rizal - the national hero of the Philippines
• Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano - the present Princess of Asturias and ex star news anchor at TVE
• Manuel Azaña - the second and last President of the Second Spanish Republic
• Javier Solana - European Union foreign policy chief and former NATO Secretary General
• Paloma Pedrero - Spanish actress, director and playwright
• Alejandro Amenabar - Spanish cinema director
• Mario Vargas Llosa - Peruvian writer

External links

• Official site