On April 18, 1877, Vicente Yap Sotto, son of Marcelino Sotto and Pascuala Yap, a patriot, lawyer and publicist, acknowledged Father of Cebuano Journalism, Literature, and Language, was born in Cebu City. Sotto studied in the Colegio de San Carlos of Cebu and graduated Bachelor of Arts from San Juan de Letran College, Manila. Later he took a commercial course in the University of Santo Tomas and then studied law at the Manila Law College and in March 1907 was admitted to the bar.
Significant Events in April in Filipino History
Gregorio Soriano Araneta stands as one of the most distinguished figures in Philippine history, a man whose life bridged the tumultuous transition from Spanish colonial rule through the revolutionary period and into the American colonial era. Born on , in Molo, Iloilo, Araneta would become a towering figure in law, politics, and public service, earning recognition as a true exemplar of Filipino capacity for leadership and governance.
Joseph Ejercito Estrada, born Jose Marcelo Ejercito on April 19, 1937, in Tondo, Manila, grew up in a working-class neighborhood. His parents, Emilio Ejercito, an engineer, and Maria Marcelo, raised him in a middle-class family. Estrada attended Ateneo de Manila University and later pursued engineering at Mapua Institute of Technology but left to follow his passion for acting. He also holds an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from the University of Pangasinan, recognizing his contributions to society.
On April 20, 1874, Servillano Aquino y Aguilar, later known as General Servillano "Mianong" Aquino, was born in Angeles, Pampanga, then part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines under Spain. He would become a member of the Katipunan, a general of the Philippine Revolutionary Army, a delegate to the Malolos Congress, and the forebear of one of the most prominent political families in modern Philippine history.
The death of Colonel James Nicholas "Nick" Rowe on , was a major event in the history of both the United States Army and the Republic of the Philippines. For the American military, it meant the loss of a hero who had survived five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and had built the Army's modern survival training. For the Philippines, it showed how dangerous the local communist rebellion had become during the late 1980s.