Jos Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda,[7] popularly known asJos Rizal (Spanish

pronunciation: [xose risal]; June 19, 1861 December 30, 1896), was a Filipino
nationalist and polymath during the tail end of theSpanish colonial period of the Philippines.
An ophthalmologist by profession, Rizal became a writer and a key member of the
Filipino Propaganda Movementwhich advocated political reforms for the colony under Spain.

He was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellionafter an anti-colonial
revolution, inspired in part by his writings, broke out. Though he was not actively involved in its
planning or conduct, he ultimately approved of its goals which eventually led to Philippine
independence.

He is widely considered one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines, and is implied by Philippine
law to be one of the national heroes.[8] He was the author of the novels Noli Me Tngere[9] and El
filibusterismo,[10] and a number of poems and essays.[11][12]

Contents
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1Early life

2Education

3Personal life, relationships and ventures

o 3.1Association with Leonor Rivera

o 3.2Relationship with Josephine Bracken

4In Brussels and Spain (189092)

5Return to Philippines (189296)

o 5.1Exile in Dapitan

o 5.2Arrest and trial

6Execution

7Works and writings

o 7.1Novels and essays

o 7.2Poetry

o 7.3Plays
 o 7.4Other works

8Reactions after death

o 8.1Retraction controversy

o 8.2"Mi ltimo adis"

o 8.3Later life of Bracken

o 8.4Polavieja and Blanco

9Criticism and controversies

o 9.1National hero status

9.1.1Made national hero by colonial Americans

9.1.2Made national hero by Emilio Aguinaldo

o 9.2References to the Catholic Church

o 9.3Critiques of books

o 9.4Role in the Philippine revolution

10Legacy

o 10.1Species named after Rizal

11Historical commemoration

12Rizal in popular culture

o 12.1Adaptation of his works

o 12.2Biographical films/TV series

o 12.3Others

13See also

14Notes and references

15Sources

16Further reading
 17External links