Wenceslao Retana | |
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![]() Retana circa 1901 | |
Born | Wenceslao Emilio Retana y Gamboa 28 September 1862 Boadilla del Monte, Spain |
Died | 21 January 1924 Madrid, Spain | (aged 61)
Nationality | Spanish |
Occupation | Polymath |
Academic background | |
Alma mater |
Wenceslao Emilio Retana y Gamboa (28 September 1862 – 21 January 1924), also known as W. E. Retana or Wenceslao E. Retana, was a 19th-century Spanish polymath.
A civil servant, colonial administrator, biographer, political commentator, publisher, bibliographer, and Filipinologist, Retana was a "onetime adversary" of Philippine national hero José Rizal who later became an admirer who wrote the first biographical account of the life of Rizal, entitled Vida y Escritos del Dr. José Rizal (The Life and Writings of Dr. José Rizal).[1][2] Rosa M. Vallejo described Retana as the "foremost" non-Filipino filipinologist.[3]