Summary:

Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda, commonly known as Jose Rizal, was a
Filipino nationalist, writer, and revolutionary who is widely regarded as the national hero of
the Philippines. He was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna, and died on December
30, 1896, in Bagumbayan, which is now known as Rizal Park in Manila.

Rizal studied at the Universidad Central de Madrid in 1884 but was not awarded a diploma
because he did not pass his thesis and was unable to pay. Nonetheless, he was recognized
as a "doktor" out of respect and honor.

His first name "Jose" was chosen by his mother because he was born on the feast day of her
favorite patron saint, San Jose. "Protacio" was the name of the patron on the calendar on
which the feast of San Protacio fell on the day of his birth. "Rizal" was chosen by his father,
Don Francisco, as part of the implementation of the Spanish decree to change the surnames
of Filipinos. It means "green fields," and his father was a farmer. "Mercado" was the
surname used by his great-grandfather Domingo Lam-ko in 1731, derived from the Spanish
word for market or marketplace, reflecting the family's livelihood. "Alonzo" was his mother's
maiden name, and "Realonda" was the new surname she chose when Governor-General
Narciso Claveria ordered the replacement of all surnames in the Philippines in the 19th
century.

Rizal was the seventh child of Francisco and Teodora Alonzo, who had eleven children in
total. His siblings were Saturnina, Paciano, Narcisa, Olympia, Lucia, Maria, Concepcion,
Josefa, Trinidad, and Soledad.

Rizal was instrumental in the formation of a group of Filipinos who aimed to write a novel
that would expose the injustices and abuses of the Spanish colonizers. Among the people
who supported him in this endeavor were Pedro Maximo, Antonio Paterno, Graciano Lopez
Janena, Evaristo Aguirre, Eduardo de Lete, Julio Lorente, Melacio Figueroa, and Valentin
Ventura. Rizal began writing the first part of his novel, "Noli Me Tangere," in Madrid in 1884
while he was still studying medicine. He continued writing it in Paris and Berlin, where he
finished the final part of the novel.

The writing of "Noli Me Tangere" was inspired by Rizal's reading of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by
Harriet Beecher Stowe, which discussed the history of black slaves in the hands of white
American masters. It depicted various forms of cruelty and abuse by whites against blacks,
which Rizal compared to the fate of Filipinos under the hands of the Spanish colonizers.

Points:
Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda "Pepe"

• Born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna

• Died on December 30, 1896, in Bagumbayan

Doctor

• Studied at the Universidad Central de Madrid on June 21, 1884

• Did not receive a diploma due to failure to pass the thesis and payment issues

• Still recognized asa doctor, and given respect and honor

Jose

• Favorite patron of his mother, San Jose

Protacio

• Name of the patron on the calendar coinciding with the feast of San Protacio on the birthday of Jose

Rizal

• Chosen by Don Francisco as part of the implementation of changing the

surnames of Filipinos

• "Ricial," a green field

• Don Francisco's livelihood was farming

Mercado

• Used by his ancestor, Domingo Lam-ko, in 1731

• Derived from the Spanish word for a market or marketplace (livelihood is selling goods)

Alonzo

• The first surname of his mother, Donya Teodora Alonzo Realonda

Realonda

• The new surname chosen by Donya Teodora when Governor-General Narciso Claveria implemented
the order to change all surnames, and she took her godmother's name, Realonda.

• The use of surnames was not prevalent among Filipinos in the past until a Spanish governor-general
made a book that ordered all residents of the Philippines to use a surname in 1849.

• Governor-General Narciso Claveria ordered the use of surnames by Filipinos to systematize the
implementation of the book Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos or Alphabetical Catalog of Surnames.

• When the order was implemented, most Filipinos chose surnames related to Christianity, such as de
los Santos, de la Cruz, del Rosario, Bautista.

Family:

• Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda Y Quintos (mother)

• Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro (father)

Siblings:

• Saturnina (1850) — the first to know about Rizal's remains

• Paciano (1851) — second father figure

• Narcisa (1852) — the most helpful

• Olympia (1855) — died after 13 hours

• Lucia (1857) — fifth child

• Maria (1859) — sixth child

• Pepe (1861)

• Concepcion (1862) — Rizal's first sorrow (died at three years old)

• Josefa (1865) — head of the female division of the KKK

• Trinidad (1868) — left behind by Rizal with the lamp (Mi Ultimo Adios)

• Soledad (1870) — youngest

People who supported Rizal in forming a group of Filipinos to write a novel:

• Pedro Maximo

• Antonio Paterno

• Graciano Lopez Janes

• Evaristo Aguirre

• Eduardo de Lete

• Julio Lorente

• Melacio Figueroa

• Valentin Ventura

• Dr. Jose P. Rizal started writing the first part of "Noli Me Tangere" in 1884 in Madrid when he was still
studying medicine, and finished half of it.

• After finishing his studies, he went to Paris and continued writing it there, and in Berlin, Rizal finished
the final part of the novel.

• Writing "Noli Me Tangere" was inspired by Rizal's reading of "Uncle Tom's Cabin