How tall was Jose Rizal? Historian Ambeth Ocampo answers

How tall was Dr. Jose Rizal? Philippine historians have been trying to answer this question for a long time, and a definitive answer may have just come.

On Facebook, Wednesday, historian Ambeth Ocampo shared a note written by Rizal himself about his height: at 19 years and four days old, he stood at one meter and 61 centimeters.

According to Ocampo, this translates to 5.28 feet or almost 5-foot-3. The height was written in one of his Rizal's notebooks, and he found it when he was filing his scans of Rizal manuscripts.

"There has always been a debate about Jose Rizal's height, with many people insisting, without evidence, that the hero stood at four feet eleven inches," he said.

"The 4-11 club would not buy my method of measuring Rizal's extant clothing in the National Historical Commission to estimate his height at around five feet two inches," he added.

As of writing, Ocampo's post has captured over 25,000 reactions and hundreds of comments from netizens, who shared their excitement for the new piece of information.

While some people said Rizal may have added a few centimeters to his height, others are quite convinced with the hero being exact with his age, down the day.

For more trivia on Rizal, check out the episode of "The Howie Severino Podcast" where Ocampo shared more never-before-heard deets on our hero.

—Franchesca Viernes/MGP, GMA News