José Rizal was a Filipino polymath, ophthalmologist, and novelist who became one of the most prominent advocates for reform in the Philippines during the late Spanish colonial era. Born in 1861, Rizal was a key figure in the Propaganda Movement of the 1880s, which campaigned for political reforms and representation for the Philippines under Spanish rule. His intellectual pursuits and literary talents quickly positioned him as a leading voice for his compatriots.\n\nRizal is best known for his two landmark novels, Noli Me Tángere (1887) and El filibusterismo (1891). Written in Spanish, these works exposed the corruption and abuses of the Spanish colonial government and Catholic religious orders, serving as a catalyst for Filipino national consciousness. As political tensions escalated, Rizal founded the civic organization La Liga Filipina in 1892. Shortly after, Spanish authorities arrested him, leading to a four-year exile in Dapitan, Mindanao.\n\nAlthough Rizal advocated for peaceful reform rather than violent revolution, his writings deeply inspired the Philippine Revolution that began in 1896. While en route to Cuba to serve as a military doctor, he was arrested, tried for rebellion, and executed by a firing squad on December 30, 1896. Today, Rizal is widely revered as a national hero of the Philippines, and his novels are celebrated as a foundational national epic.
