Bhubaneswar, July 18 - Noted historian and former Rajya Sabha member Manmath Nath Das died here early Saturday, his family said. He was 83.

Das died due to complications related to old age. He is survived by a son, daughter and his wife.

Das, a former vice chancellor of Utkal University in Orissa, has published a number of books on history in both Oriya and English. He has also contributed widely to journals of repute.

He was a Congress member in the upper house of parliament from 1998 to 2004.

Widely travelled across the globe, Das had also published hundreds of research papers in reputed journals in India and abroad, and contributed articles for the Encyclopaedia Britannica and Groller Encyclopaedia.