The author, national hero of the Philippines, was born in Calamba, Laguna in 1861. He received his education from his mother, private teachers, the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, where he received a bachelor's degree, and the University of Sto. Tomas. In 1882 he left for Europe, and there obtained a licentiate in medicine in 1884 and in
philosophy and letters in 1885. In 1887, in Berlin, he finished Noli Me Tangere, his first novel, and in 1891, in Biarritz, France, his second novel, El Filibusterismo, both written in Spanish.

Among many other works in prose and poetry, the most notable are the essays written for La Solidaridad titled "Sobre la indolencia de los Filipinos," "Filipinas dentro de cien años," and "Sa mga Kababaihang Dalaga ng Malolos"; and the poems "Me piden versos," "A las flores de Heidelberg," and "Ultimo adios," written on the eve of his execution by musketry on December 30, 1896.