Ramon Amigó Anglès

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Ramon Amigó Anglès (1925–2011) was a Spanish writer, a Catalan language teacher, and an expert on names (onomastics). He was born in Reus and learned Catalan, French, English and some Latin after moving with his family during the Civil War.

In the 1940s he was influenced by Teresa Miquel i Pàmies and Joaquim Santasusagna, and he began studying language, literature and local history. After his father was imprisoned at the end of the war, Ramon worked in a nuts and dried fruit company, using his language skills to handle international mail.

He became involved in local culture and research in Reus. He helped change the language of the hiking club, Associació Excursionista de Reus, newsletter to Catalan and supported historical and linguistic studies of Camp de Tarragona. He helped republish the guide Les muntanyes de Prades, el Montsant i Serra la Llena in 1960. He also took part in secret poetry circles and, in 1949, with Xavier Amorós and Josep Maria Arnavat, helped form Amics de la Poesia within the Centre de Lectura de Reus.

In 1961 he started Catalan language classes with Teresa Miquel and Robert Miralles, with help from Òmnium Cultural, and helped set up basic courses for towns in Camp de Tarragona. He was secretary (1959–1975) and later president (1979–1997) of the Associació d'Estudis Reusencs, changing its internal documents to Catalan and broadening its research to language studies. He also led the Centre de Lectura for a time and published its Revista, linking Reus to national Catalan movements. He published books on toponymy (place names) and led seminars on onomastics at several universities.

From 1980 until his death he was vice president of the Onomatology Society of Catalonia, and from 1994 he was a member of the Philological Section of the Institute for Catalan Studies. He received the Creu de Sant Jordi in 1997. He died in Reus on 16 September 2011. A funeral service was held there, and the city later named a square after him near the Mas Iglésies center.