Ralph Tomlinson, was a British lyricist best known for writing the original lyrics to "The Anacreontic Song". The music from the Anacreontic Song would be set as the music for The Star Spangled Banner, which would become the American national anthem in 1931. In 1776, he became the President of the Anacreontic Society, after the death of the previous President, George Bellas.

"The Anacreontic Song", also known by its incipit "To Anacreon in Heaven", was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London. Composed by John Stafford Smith, the tune was later used by several writers as a setting for their patriotic lyrics. These included two songs by Francis Scott Key, most famously his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry". The combination of Key's poem and Smith's composition became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner", which was adopted as the national anthem of the United States of America in 1931.