Its origins lie in the middle ages, when King Sancho IV of Castile created the Study of General Schools of Alcala on May 20, 1293. In 1499 Cardinal Cisneros founded the Universitas Complutensis; Complutum being 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. In 1970 the university returned to its original name.

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

• Adolfo Suárez - first democratically elected president after the Franco regime
• José Rizal - the national hero of the Philippines
• Manuel Azaña - the second and last President of the Second Spanish Republic
• Paloma Pedrero - Spanish actress, director andplaywright