Anselmo Lorenzo Asperilla (21 April 1841 – 30 November 1914) was a defining figure in the early Spanish Anarchist movement, earning the often quoted sobriquet "the grandfather of Spanish anarchism," in the words of Murray Bookchin: "his contribution to the spread of Anarchist ideas in Barcelona and Andalusia over the decades was enormous".

[1] His activity in the movement and adherence to Anarchist ideals can be rooted to his meeting and befriending of Giuseppe Fanelli in 1868, a disciple of Mikhail Bakunin recruiting for the International Workingmen's Association.

[3] Paul Lafargue recruited Lorenzo and other Madrilenian printers (such as Pablo Iglesias and Jose Mesa) for the Spanish Regional Federation of the IWA.

[4] This association with Lafargue, a son-in-law of Karl Marx, led to the founding of the Madrid Internationalist paper called La Emancipacion, which promoted Marxist ideology.

[4] Lorenzo was listed as one of the delegates representing the Spanish Marxists in the International Workingmen's Association (IWMA) London Congress in 1864.