Bogo Grafenauer graduated (1940) and obtained his doctorate (1944) at the University of Ljubljana where he then taught History of Slovenes and Introduction to History (since 1956 as Full Professor). With his research of medieval history of Slovenes and other Southern Slav nations, peasant rebellions and ethnic development of Slovenes (especially in Carinthia, the home of his paternal family), and with synthetic reviews of Slovene history, Grafenauer has established himself as one of the leading Slovene historians after WW II. Aside to teaching and research, he had done editing (i.a. with the Zgodovinski časopis) and organizing in the field of culture (i.a. as President of the Slovenska matica and the Carinthian Slovenes Club in Ljubljana).
Grafenauer's bibliography consists of over 450 items, among them 20 books.