Spanish exiled Philippine reformer and writer José Rizal from 1892 to 1896 for his political novels, later arrested him, and executed him for sedition; his death helped to fuel an insurrection against rule from 1896 to 1898.

José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, a polymath nationalist, most prominently advocated during the colonial era. Poeple consider him the national hero and commemorate the anniversary of his death as a holiday, called Rizal day. His military trial made him a martyr of the revolution.

The seventh of eleven children to a wealthy family in the town, Rizal attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts. He enrolled in medicine and philosophy and letters at the University of Santo Tomas and then