Carlos Eduardo Castañeda (11 November 1896 – 3 April 1958) was a historian, specializing in the history of Texas, and a leader in the push for civil rights for Mexican-Americans.

He gained an undergraduate and master's degree in history from the University of Texas at Austin, and then spent several years teaching Spanish at the College of William and Mary.

He combed various archives in Mexico to find and copy previously unknown documentation on life in Texas and the southwestern United States.

During World War II, Castañeda took a leave of absence from his teaching position at the University of Texas to work as an investigator for the Fair Employment Practices Committee.

After working for prominent historian Eugene Campbell Barker, Castañeda discovered a love of history and changed his major.

Eventually, the club's activities led to the founding of Saint Bede parish, creating a chapel that is now the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.

The head of the Knights of Columbus in Texas, Joseph I. Driscoll, invited Castañeda to suggest ways of approaching the vast project.

In his response, Castañeda suggested that the committee sponsoring the work appoint a single individual to gather the appropriate primary sources for the eventual publication.

He volunteered his time to help, noting that he was planning to teach in Mexico City that summer, and remarking that "I am a graduate of the University of Texas, and though a Mexican by birth, I feel that I am a Texan in spirit.

[7] Castañeda received an offer for a temporary position at the University Junior College of San Antonio but rejected it to pursue more permanent employment.

Castañeda intended to photocopy the information from the archives in Saltillo, the capitol of the defunct Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas, noting that it "is of the move vital nature for the history of Texas".

[11] Castañeda received a scholarship from the Farmer Foundation for his final year of graduate classes, 1929–1930, easing some of his financial worries.

While he worked to complete his coursework, Castañeda translated the pamphlet Latin America and the United States into Spanish for the Knight of Columbus to distribute.

He remained busy throughout 1930, editing a volume of documents from Mexican archives, La guerra de reforma: segun el archivo del General D. Manuel Doblado, 1857–1860.

[14] Too old to volunteer for military service during World War II, Castañeda instead solicited an appointment with the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC).

Mexican-American workers had complained that they were paid less than their white counterparts, had no access to promotions, and were forced to use the facilities marked for colored people.

[15] On his death, historian J. Lloyd Mecham declared Castañeda was "one of our most distinguished and productive scholars and teachers in the field of Latin American history".

[2] The Bibliography of Religion in the South notes that Castañeda's history of Roman Catholicism in Texas is "the most comprehensive and the most historiographically sound analysis of that tradition in any state".