David Samuel Harvard Abulafia

David Abulafia, the renowned British historian whose sweeping narratives of maritime history transformed our understanding of the Mediterranean and the world's oceans, passed away suddenly on January 24, 2026. He was 76. His death was announced by Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he had been a Fellow for over fifty years. A scholar of immense intellect and range, Abulafia was celebrated for his ability to weave complex economic, social, and political strands into accessible, human-centric histories.

Born in Twickenham, Abulafia spent nearly his entire academic career at the University of Cambridge, rising to become the Professor of Mediterranean History. His scholarship reached a global audience with the publication of The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean (2011), a bestseller that earned him the British Academy Medal. He followed this success with The Boundless Sea (2019), a monumental history of the oceans that won the prestigious Wolfson History Prize in 2020. His work was characterized by a distinctive "southern perspective" often focusing on Italy, Spain, and the interactions between the Abrahamic faiths.

Beyond his writing, Abulafia was a formidable figure in British academia. He served as Chairman of the Cambridge History Faculty and was a committed educator who garnered the Pilkington Prize for Teaching. A public intellectual who never shied away from debate, he was also known for his contributions to discussions on university governance and his chairmanship of Historians for Britain. Despite his towering public profile, colleagues remembered him foremost as a dedicated mentor and a warm friend who fostered a spirit of rigorous inquiry.

He is survived by his wife, the historian Anna Abulafia, and their two daughters, Bianca and Rosa. Tributes from the academic community have described him as a giant of his field who reconnected the modern world with its maritime past. His legacy endures in his groundbreaking books, which continue to set the standard for how we view the history of human connection across the seas.