The Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise (Spanish: Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio) is a Spanish civil order established in 1939, recognising activities in the fields of education, science, culture, higher education and research. The order was created on 23 May 1902 by Royal decree as the Order of Alfonso XII. In 1988 the order was reformed and given its current name. The main innovation of the 1988 reform was to discontinue the previous award's practice of distinguishing male and female achievements, thereby eliminating explicit sexual discrimination. Source: Wikipedia (en)