José Rizal was a Filipino writer, doctor, and reformer whose novels exposed the injustices of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. A gifted polyglot who spoke more than a dozen languages, he trained as an ophthalmologist partly to treat his mother's failing eyesight, and successfully performed cataract surgery on her in 1892. His writing inspired a growing movement for Filipino independence, and he was executed by Spanish authorities at just 35 years old — remembered today as the Philippines' national hero for his courage and his belief in education and reform.