Antonio Francesco Gramsci (January 22, 1891 - April 27, 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, literary critic, linguist, historian, and politician. He wrote extensively on political theory, sociology, anthropology, history, and linguistics.

Gramsci was a founding member and general secretary of the Communist Party of Italy, and he served as a deputy for the Veneto district before being imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's fascist regime. He is primarily recognized for his theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how the state uses cultural institutions to maintain power in Western societies.