A Brief Biography

Jos Rizal (1861-1896) was a national hero of the Philippines and the
first Asian nationalist. He expressed the growing national
consciousness of many Filipinos who opposed Spanish colonial
tyranny and aspired to attain democratic rights. . He was the seventh
child in a family of 11 children (2 boys and 9 girls). Both his parents
were educated and belonged to distinguished families.

Jos Rizal was born in Calamba, Laguna, on June 19, 1861, to a well-
to-do family. He studied at the Jesuit Ateneo Municipal in Manila and
won many literary honors and prizes. He obtained abachelor of arts
degree with highest honors in 1877. For a time he studied at the
University of Santo Tomas, and in 1882 he left for Spain to enter the
Central University of Madrid, where he completed his medical and
humanistic studies.