Braudel, (Paul Achille) Fernand (1902-1985)

French historian. While in a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II he wrote La Mediterranée et le monde mediterranéen à l'époque de Philippe II/The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II 1949, a work which revolutionized the writing of history by taking a global view of long-term trends.

Braudel taught in Algeria and Brazil before returning to France in 1938. He became a professor at the Collège de France 1949-72 and a leading member of the Annales school, editing the journal Annales d'histoire économique et sociale. During this period, he published extensively and championed the ideas of using the social sciences and problem-based research as a means of historical enquiry.