Trinidad Hermenegildo Padro de Tavera (1857-1925) was a man of vast learning and probably the most versatile of the Filipino writers of his time (except for Rizal). He studied at the country's leading schools, attending the Ateneo Municipal, the Colegio de San Juan de Letran where he obtained his Bachiller en Artes in 1873. He held a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Sorbonne and a diploma in Malay language from the Ecole Nationale des Langues Orientales Vivantes. He published books on subjects such as medicine and linguistics which were translated into German by Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt. Trinidad was also a member of the Societe Academique IndoChinoise in Paris while in 1889, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce named him as its delegate to represent the colony at the Universal Exposition in Paris. He was given responsibility of organizing and cataloging the country's exhibit. He was a member of the Royal Academy of Languages of Madrid and the Royal Academy of Science. He was also conferred by the University of the Philippines the degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa. He wrote on many subjects, from medicine to paleography, linguistics, numismatics, cartography, history, metrical romances, education, and social problems.