The Most Famous
SOCIAL ACTIVISTS from Spain
This page contains a list of the greatest Spanish Social Activists. The pantheon dataset contains 840 Social Activists, 4 of which were born in Spain. This makes Spain the birth place of the 37th most number of Social Activists behind Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan.
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Spanish Social Activists of all time. This list of famous Spanish Social Activists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Buenaventura Durruti (1896 - 1936)
With an HPI of 65.66, Buenaventura Durruti is the most famous Spanish Social Activist. His biography has been translated into 43 different languages on wikipedia.
José Buenaventura Durruti Dumange (14 July 1896 – 20 November 1936) was a Spanish anarchist revolutionary involved with the CNT and the FAI in the periods before and during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. Durruti played an influential role during the Spanish Revolution of 1936 and is remembered as a hero in and by the anarchist movement.
2. Salvador Puig Antich (1948 - 1974)
With an HPI of 58.80, Salvador Puig Antich is the 2nd most famous Spanish Social Activist. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Salvador Puig Antich (Catalan pronunciation: [səlβəˈðo ˌpudʒ‿ənˈtik]; 30 May 1948 – 2 March 1974) was a Spanish militant anarchist from Catalonia. His execution for involvement in a bank robbery and shooting a police officer dead became a cause célèbre in Francoist Spain for Catalan autonomists, pro-independence supporters, and anarchists. After fighting the Spanish state with the militant organization Iberian Liberation Movement in the early 1970s, he was convicted and executed by garrote for the death of a police officer during a shoot-out. Far left-wing Catalans viewed Puig Antich's judicial death as symbolic retribution for the region's fight for self-government, and his name became commonplace in Barcelona. The incident inspired works by Catalan artists Joan Miró and Antoni Tàpies, and a satirical play by the Catalan theater group Els Joglars. The 2006 film Salvador depicts Puig Antich's time on death row. After the Spanish Supreme Court declined an effort to review the execution, an Argentine court adopted the case under universal jurisdiction in 2013.
3. Lucio Urtubia (1931 - 2020)
With an HPI of 57.86, Lucio Urtubia is the 3rd most famous Spanish Social Activist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Lucio Urtubia Jiménez (1931–2020) was a Spanish anarchist known for his practice of expropriative anarchism through forgery. At times compared to Robin Hood, Urtubia carried out bank robberies and forgeries throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In the words of Albert Boadella, "Lucio is a Quijote that did not fight against wind mills, but against a true giant". He was one of the main participants in an action to raise funds for his political formation, based on a scam against the First National City Bank by forging traveler's checks with printing plates of which he was the author. Hundreds of counterfeit traveler's checks were distributed throughout Europe and several Latin American countries between January 1980 and December 1982. The so-called "money recovery operations", of which the City Bank scam was a part, were used to collect of funds destined to support those who struggled and needed it. Following the dismantling of the counterfeiting infrastructure, the French police were unable to recover the printing plates for the checks, forcing the City Bank and the French government to make a pact with Urtubia. Urtubia died in his home city of Paris, France on 18 July 2020, aged 89.
4. Enric Duran (b. 1976)
With an HPI of 37.21, Enric Duran is the 4th most famous Spanish Social Activist. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Enric Duran Giralt (born 23 April 1976, Vilanova i la Geltrú) also known as Robin Banks or the Robin Hood of the Banks is a Catalan anticapitalist activist and a founding member of the Catalan Integral Cooperative (CIC - Cooperativa Integral Catalana) and Faircoop. On September 17, 2008, he publicly announced that he had 'robbed' dozens of Spanish banks of nearly half a million euros as part of a political action to denounce what he termed the predatory capitalist system. From 2006 to 2008, Duran took out 68 commercial and personal loans from a total of 39 banks with no guarantees or property as collateral. He had no intention of repaying the debts, and used the money to finance various anti-capitalist movements. In 2008, Duran released both an online article entitled "I have "robbed" 492,000 euros from those who rob us the most, in order to denounce them and build alternatives for society" (translated), and an online video, each explaining what he had done and that he had left the country to view the reaction and consider his next move. This was also published in the free magazine Crisis, in Catalan, of which 200,000 copies were printed and distributed by volunteers throughout Catalonia. A second newspaper, We can! Live Without Capitalism was distributed on March 17, 2009, and a third, We want! on September 17, 2009.
5. Pablo Hasél (b. 1988)
With an HPI of 34.50, Pablo Hasél is the 5th most famous Spanish Social Activist. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Pablo Rivadulla Duró (born 9 August 1988), known artistically as Pablo Hasél, is a Catalan rapper, writer, poet, and political activist. His songs and actions, often controversial and in support of far-left politics, have led to a number of criminal charges and convictions in his country. In June 2020 he was sentenced to six months in prison for pushing and spraying washing-up liquid at a TV3 journalist and to two and a half years for kicking and threatening a witness in the trial of a policeman. He was imprisoned on 16 February 2021 on a nine-month sentence for recidivism in insulting the Spanish monarchy, insulting the Spanish army and police forces, and praising terrorism and banned groups. This has been labeled an attack on free speech by certain groups both in Spain and overseas, including Amnesty International, and led to numerous protests and riots.
People
Pantheon has 5 people classified as Spanish social activists born between 1896 and 1988. Of these 5, 2 (40.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Spanish social activists include Enric Duran, and Pablo Hasél. The most famous deceased Spanish social activists include Buenaventura Durruti, Salvador Puig Antich, and Lucio Urtubia. As of April 2024, 1 new Spanish social activists have been added to Pantheon including Lucio Urtubia.
Living Spanish Social Activists
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Buenaventura Durruti
1896 - 1936
HPI: 65.66
Salvador Puig Antich
1948 - 1974
HPI: 58.80
Lucio Urtubia
1931 - 2020
HPI: 57.86
Newly Added Spanish Social Activists (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Social Activists were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Social Activists since 1700.
