About José Prudencio Padilla
Admiral José Prudencio Padilla López was a Neogranadine military leader who fought in the Spanish American wars of independence and a hero in the battles of independence for Gran Colombia. He was the foremost naval hero of the campaign for independence led by Simón Bolívar, and the creator of the first Navy and Admiral of Great Colombia. He is best known for his victory in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo on 24 July 1823, in which a royalist Spanish fleet was defeated. In recognition of this, the Granadino government awarded Padilla with a promotion as the second frigate lieutenant. Padilla seems to have refused and there is no record of his escape, but he was judged by a tribunal for the charge of conspiracy, then sentenced to death and executed in the Plaza de la Constitución in Bogotá on 2 October 1828.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.