Hernandez, Aliah Cyril M.

2BSA-1

Dr. Jose Rizal

Short Biography

Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda a.k.a Jose Rizal was born on 19th of June
1861 at Calamba, Laguna. His parents are Teodora Alonso Realonda and Francisco Mercado. He
has ten siblings namely Saturnina, Paciano, Narcisa, Olympia, Lucia, Maria, Concepcion, Josefa,
Trinidad, and Soledad.

When Jose Rizal was a kid, he already showed that he had a superior intelligence. His
mother was his first teacher. Doña Teodora discovered early that Jose has a talent for poetry and
encourage Jose to write poems. Jose graduated high school with the highest honors at the age of
16. Later on, he studied at the Ateneo De Municipal in year 1872 and eventually earned a land
surveyor's and assessor's degree from the said university. Then, while taking up Philosophy and
Letters at the University of Santo Tomas. Upon learning that his mother was going blind, Rizal
opted to study ophthalmology at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. In Sampaloc,
Manila, where Rizal stayed while studying at the University of Santo Tomas, he met Leonor
Rivera, whom is his one great love. Afterwards, leaving Leonor Rivera behind, he studied in
Paris and Germany and completed another doctorate degree in Heidelberg in 1887.

During his time spent in Europe, Rizal learned ten languages and could speak them all
fluently. While in Europe, Jose Rizal became part of the Propaganda Movement, connecting with
other Filipinos who wanted reform. He also wrote his first novel during the time he was in
Europe and continued to write even more novels throughout his life. Two of the novels he wrote,
are titled Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) , was printed in Berlin in 1887 and El Filibusterismo
(Reign of Greed),a sequel to Noli Me Tangere, was published in Ghent, Belgium. However,
these novels offended Catholic Church officials/members and even the Spanish government that
ruled the Philippines during colonization. He also published articles in La Solidaridad, a paper
aligned with the Propaganda Movement. The reforms Rizal advocated were the call for equal
treatment of Filipinos, limiting the power of Spanish friars and representation for the Philippines
in the Spanish Cortes (Spain's parliament).Rizal eventually was exiled for his writings, which
called for reform in Spain. However, he returned to the Philippines in 1892 where he promptly
faced accusations of being there to start a rebellion.
 During his exile in Dapitan, he met a girl named Josephine Bracken. Jose and Josephine
fell in love with each other and planned to marry, but because of his troubles with the church
they were denied as man and wife. Then in 1896, the revolution against the Spaniards began
wherein Rizal opposed the violence to advocate reform. Suddenly, he decided to go to Cuba to
treat patients, and was granted permission to do so. On his way to Cuba, he was detained and
thrown into jail.

Jose Rizal was imprisoned in Fort Santiago, Intramuros for the charges of rebellion,
sedition, and conspiracy in which he was convicted on all three charges, and sentenced to death
by firing squad. At the eve before his execution, Rizal wrote his final poem on a single paper
revealing his strong nationalism and unwavering love for his country. His family later received
the poem hidden inside a small alcohol stove. Originally, Rizal did not give a title for it but it
was later on entitled "Mi Ultimo Adios" by Mariano Ponce, his friend and fellow reformist.
Despite denying the charges, Jose Rizal was still sentenced to death. Then, more or less two
hours before Jose Rizal’s execution, he was permitted to marry Josephine. Thereafter, at the age
of 35 he was shot by a firing squad at the Bagumbayan on 30th of December 1896.