<div class="image-200">
<a href="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/dr-jose-p-rizal.webp" rel="lightbox">
<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/dr-jose-p-rizal.webp" alt="Jose Rizal by Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo" />
</a>
<div>
(Dr. Jose P. Rizal, a painting by Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo)
</div>
</div>
<p>
Jose was the seventh of eleven children, Jose was baptized by Father Rufino Collantes on June 22, 1861, with Father Pedro Casanas as his godfather. Jose’s siblings were: Saturnina, Paciano, Narcisa, <a href="https://kahimyang.com/articles/3000/olimpia-rizal-the-stout-sister-of-a-hero" class="news_link">Olimpia</a>, <a href="https://kahimyang.com/articles/3194/luc-a-rizal-steadfast-sister-in-the-rizal-legacy" class="news_link">Lucia</a>, Maria, Concepcion, Josefa, <a href="https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/2745/today-in-philippine-history-june-6-1868-trinidad-rizal-younger-sister-of-jose-rizal-was-born-in-calamba-laguna" class="news_link">Trinidad</a> and <a href="https://kahimyang.com/articles/2999/soledad-rizal-the-heros-controversial-sister" class="news_link">Soledad</a>. 
</p>
</p>
<p>
Early on, Jose manifested exceptional intelligence. He learned the alphabet at the age of three from his mother and was trained to do outdoor 

activities like riding horses. Father Leoncio Lopez influenced him to exude character that held high respect for the rights of others. At the age of 

nine, his parents sent him to study Biñan in the school of Don Justiniano Aquino Cruz, who, after a few months, reported to his parents that he had 

nothing more to learn in school. Jose excelled in academics and in physical activities. 
</p>
<p>
Jose was allowed to study in Manila at the prodding of his brother, Paciano. By this time, he was already using the second family name, Rizal, in 

order to avoid complications in his studies, which the Mercado family name used by his brother Paciano could bring on him. His brother Paciano had 

earned the ire of the Spanish friars because of his relationship with <a href="https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/923/today-in-philippine-history-february-9-1837-father-jose-burgos-was-born-in-vigan-ilocos-sur" class="news_link">Father Jose Burgos</a>. Jose passed the entrance examinations at Colegio de San 

Juan de Letran owned by the Dominicans but he chose to study at <a href="https://kahimyang.com/articles/2987/history-of-ateneo-de-manila-university" class="news_link">Ateneo Municipal</a> after learning that Dominican friars in Calamba were pursuing a 

court case against his mother. In 1872, he was admitted at the Ateneo through the help of Dr. Manuel Xeres Burgos, a nephew of Fr. Jose Burgos, and 

a close friend of Paciano. Burgos was able to convince Father Magin Fernando to admit Rizal at Ateneo. 
</p>
<p>
On March 14, 1877, Jose obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree at Ateneo Municipal with high honors for excelling in academics. It was during his 

student days in Ateneo that his extreme giftedness in poetry, writing, painting and sculpture became known. One of the masterpieces he did at Ateneo 

was a sculpture of the statue of the sacred heart of Jesus and some of his literary works have won prizes like: <i>Felicitacion, Por La Educacion 

Recibe Lustre la Patria, Un Recuerdo a mi pueblo</i>, and <i>El heroismo de colon</i>.
</p>
<p>
In 1878, Jose studied Medicine, and Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas and at the same time pursued a course in surveying at 

the Ateneo. Alongside with his academic studies at UST, Rizal actively participated in literary activities. He won first prize for his poem <i>"A La 

Juventud Filipina"</i> (To the Filipino Youth) in the literary contest sponsored by the Liceo Literario Artistico. Because he was a native, he 

experienced discrimination like when his entry <i>"The Council of the Gods"</i> which many spectators adjudged winner was awarded second to a work 

of a Spaniard. 
</p>
<p>
In 1882, Jose sailed to Spain where he hoped to have better education and training, with the help of Paciano, his uncle Antonio Rivera and his 

friend Chenggoy (Jose Cecilio). It was Antonio Rivera who helped secure passage ticket for him to board the ship that would bring him to Singapore 

where he would take another ship to Spain. 
</p>
<div class="image-200">
<img loading="lazy"   src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/jose_rizal_marcelo_del_pilar_mariano_ponce.webp"   alt="Jose Rizal, Marcelo del Pilar and Mariano Ponce"/>
<div>
(Left to right: Jose Rizal, Marcel del Pilar, and Mariano Ponce)
</div>
</div>
<p>
In 1884, he finished his <i>licentiate</i> in Medicine and his <i>licentiate</i> in Philosophy and Letters, also at the Central University of Madrid on June 19, 1885. By then, he was already deeply involved in the propaganda movement, together with <a href="https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/1029/today-in-philippine-history-march-23-1863-mariano-ponce-was-born-in-baliuag-bulacan" class="news_link">Mariano Ponce</a>, Graciano Lopez Jaena, <a href="https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/554/today-in-philippine-history-august-30-1850-marcelo-h-del-pilar-was-born-in-cupang-bulacan-bulacan" class="news_link">Marcelo del Pilar</a> among other patriotic Filipino students in Europe. He wrote articles for reforms in the <i>La Solidaridad</i> newspaper. 
</p>
<p>

One who had wielded influence among his countrymen abroad; Rizal’s speeches in gatherings of Filipino students were considered a gem. His speech, 

honoring <a href="https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/705/today-in-philippine-history-october-23-1857-juan-luna-was-born-in-badoc-ilocos-norte" class="news_link">Juan Luna</a> and Felix R. Hidalgo, who both won the top prizes for their respective paintings during the Art Exposicion in Madrid in June 

1884, saying: <i>"Juan Luna and Felix R. Hidalgo are glories of Spain in the Philippines ..."</i>  was published in <i>La Solidaridad</i>. 
</p>
<p>
Wanting to become an expert in the medical field, he trained under known specialists in Europe, like under Dr. Louis de Wecker, a famous 

ophthalmologist in Paris. He acquainted himself with other doctors like Otto Bayer, and Hans Meyer in Heidelberg, Germany. Alongside with his 

trainings and busy activities in the campaign for reforms was his pursuit in literature. He translated Schiller’s William Tell and Andersen’s Fairy 

Tales to Tagalog. He joined prestigious scientific societies in Europe. 
</p>
<p>

Rizal’s committed campaign for reforms in the Philippines led him to write his two novels: the <i>Noli Me Tangere</i>, and <i>El Filibusterismo</i>. 

His first novel, partly written while he was staying in the home of a Protestant Minister, Pastor Karl Ullmer, in Wilhelmsfeld town in Heidelberg, 
Germany, was published in March 1887 through the financial assistance of his friend, <a href="https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/691/today-in-philippine-history-october-17-1857-maximo-viola-was-born" class="news_link">Dr. Maximo Viola</a>. His friend loaned him P300 to print the first 2000 copies. Both of his novels portrayed the pathetic situation of the Filipinos in the hands of the Spanish authorities and the influential 
Religious corporations. Copies of the novels were smuggled into the country since the Spanish authorities banned them. 
</p>
<div class="image-200">
<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/maximo_viola.webp"  alt="Maximo Viola" />
<div>
(Maximo Viola)
</div>
</div>
<p>
In May 1887, Rizal and Viola toured several cities in Europe before they separated. Viola returned to Spain and Rizal passed by Italy on his way 

back to the Philippines. He arrived in Manila on August 5, 1887. Several days later, Rizal performed an operation on the eyes of her mother. Word 

spread about his expertise that patients started coming in but Rizal did not only concentrate in treating his patients. He initiated sports like 

sipa, arnis, and fencing in the hope of weaning his townspeople, who dubbed him as Dr. Uleman (German) since he came from Germany, from gambling and 

other vices. Used to having outdoor activities, he explored the fields, hills, and mountains. He hoisted a banner on Mt. Makiling.
 </p>
<p>
 Since the publication of his first novel, Rizal's life in the Philippines became different. The Spanish friars who declared <i>Noli me Tangere</i>, impious, heretic, scandalous to the Catholic Church and injurious to the government, hated him. Thus, the liberal-minded Spanish Governor-General 
Emilio Terrero, concerned for his safety advised him to leave.
</p>

<p>
On February 3, 1888, Rizal left Manila. He sailed to Hong Kong, where he met Jose Ma. Basa. From Macao, he sailed to Japan, the United States, and 

in England. In Japan, the Spanish government offered Rizal a job as interpreter but he chose to be on his own. After staying for almost two months 

in Japan where he learned about Japanese arts, language and culture, he sailed to America. He left Japan on February 28, 1888 aboard the SS Belgic. 

He arrived in San Francisco on April 18, 1888, lodged at the Palace Hotel and then took a transcontinental train to the US East Coast via Chicago 

and the Niagara Falls in Lake Ontario. He stayed at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York for a while and sailed for England aboard the SS City of 

Rome, arriving at the Liverpool on May 24, 1888. 
</p>
<div class="image-200">
<a href="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/leonor_rizal_love.webp" rel="lightbox">
<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/leonor_rizal_love.webp" alt="Leonor Rivera"   />
</a>
<div>
(Leonor Rivera)
</div>
</div>
<br clear="all" />
<p>
During his travels in different countries, Rizal was romantically linked with different women. Among these ladies were: O-sei-san, a beautiful 

Japanese girl of noble descent, who became his faithful guide and interpreter; Gertrude “Tottie” Beckett, daughter of his landlord in England; and 

Nellie Bousted, a French whom he met in Paris; Susanne Jacoby of Belgium and Consuelo Ortiga of Madrid. Among the Filipinas he was romantically 

involved with were: Leonora Valenzuela of Intramuros, Leonor Rivera of Tarlac and Segunda Katigbak of Batangas. 
</p>

<div class="image-200">
<a href="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/oseisan.webp" rel="lightbox">
<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/oseisan_t.webp" alt="O-sei-san"  />
</a>
<div>
(Beautiful Japanese, O-sei-san)
</div>
</div>

<p>
He Spoke Spanish, French, German, English, Dutch, Greek, Latin and Tagalog. He had knowledge of Ilocano, Visayan, Russian, Sanskrit, Arabic, 

Swedish, Hebrew, Malayan, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Italian. 
</p>
<p>
While in London, Rizal copied Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipina, published in 1609, which he planned to annotate. It was during this 

work that he became acquainted with Dr. Reinhold Rost, a librarian and editor of Trubner’s Record. Rizal busied himself with other works while in 

England, he wrote the <i>"Vision of Father Rodriguez"</i> and <a href="https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/1727/jose-rizals-letter-to-the-20-young-women-of-malolos-translation-from-tagalog" class="news_link">"Letter to the Young Women of Malolos"</a>,  both published in 1889. 
</p>
<p>
In 1889, Rizal was in Paris where he published Morga's book with his annotations, founded Indios Bravos and witnessed the International Exposition. 

On January 18, 1890, he moved to Belgium where he became close with Jose Albert and Jose Alejandrino. Later, Albert would receive honor for his 

contributions in the medical field while Alejandrino would be remembered for fighting during the revolution against Spain and America. In Belgium, 

Rizal lived in poverty. The printing of his second novel, El Filibusterismo, a sequel of Noli Me Tangere, was stopped because of financial 

constraints until Valentin Ventura, a rich compatriot, came to his aid. Thus the book came out of the press on September 18, 1891.
 </p>
<p>
Depressing news reached him from home. His sweetheart Leonor Rivera married Engineer Kipping; his folks were ejected en masse from Calamba; and the 

Spanish officials who were sympathetic to the reform movement turned hostile. He took his vacation at Biarritz at the invitation of the Bousteds. 

While there, Nellie Bousted proved to be a balm for his wounded feelings. Later, he left for Paris then went to Marseilles and boarded the SS 

Melbourne for Hong Kong. With his dwindling funds, he received money for his passage ticket sent to him by Jose Ma. Basa, a rich Filipino merchant 

who was living in exile in the British colony. 
</p>
<div class="image-200">
<a href="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/nellie_bousted.webp" rel="lightbox">
<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/nellie_bousted.webp"  alt="Frenchwoman Nellie Bousted one of Rizal's love" />
</a>
<div>
(Frenchwoman Nellie Bousted one of Rizal's love)
</div>
</div>
<p>
He arrived in Hong Kong on November 20, 1891. There, his family, ejected from their lands in Calamba, joined him through the financial help extended 

by his compatriots led by Jose Anacleto Ramos (Ishikawa). He practiced medicine to earn a living and at the same time, continued to support the 

campaign for reforms and to look for ways that could better the lives of the Filipinos. He proposed that a Filipino colony to accommodate Filipinos 

ousted from their lands in the Philippines be established. With funding from his friends, he went to Borneo aboard the SS Memnon. The British 

authorities were already agreeable to a 950-year lease of the proposed colony in Borneo but the Spanish Governor General Emilio Despujol refused to 

allow the Filipinos to migrate in North Borneo.
</p>
<p>
On June 26, 1892, he arrived in Manila with his sister Lucia aboard the SS Don Juan. Few days after, on July 3, he founded the <a href="https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/735/today-in-philippine-history-july-3-1892-dr-jose-rizal-founded-the-la-liga-filipina" class="news_link">Liga Filipina</a> in the house of Doroteo Ongjunco on Ilaya Street in Tondo, Manila. The association was aimed to unite the Filipinos and for them to help each other in 

times of need, and to encourage them to be educated and trained in agriculture. The association was, however, short lived for after a few days of 

its founding, Rizal was arrested on flimsy charges. One of which was the leaflet entitled Pobres Frailes, a sarcastic allusion to the friars found 

on his baggage when he arrived from Hong Kong. 

</p>

<div class="image-200">
<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/eulogio_despujol.webp" alt="Eulogio Despujol"  />
<div>
(Eulogio Despujol)
</div>
</div>
<p>
Governor General Despujol published in the Gazette the reasons for his arrest and copies were forwarded to the Spanish Embassy in Hong Kong for 

circulation. The British Consul commented on the strange reasons for his arrest. The editor of the Hong Kong Telegraph devoted an entire column of 

the newspaper on the sad news of his detention. 
</p>
<p>
On July 17, 1892, Rizal was deported to Dapitan under the watchful eye of Ricardo Carnicero, the 

military commandant of Dapitan. One who never allowed time to be spent idly, Rizal busied himself with activities that were also beneficial to 

others. He established a clinic, a school, and constructed a water system. He bought tracts of land from his lottery winning and developed it into a 

farm. Loneliness impelled him to write Mi Retiro but reflected the strength of his spirit when he composed the hymn  <i>"Talisay"</i>. 

</p>
<p>
He corresponded unceasingly with Ferdinand Blumentritt and other scientists he met abroad. He gathered specimens of plants and insects and sent them 

to his scientists friends abroad. His fame as an eye specialist lured patients to visit him in Dapitan. Among the most important was Engineer George 

Tauffer, who arrived with his foster daughter, Josephine Bracken. Soon, Josephine became his wife. Having inspired the revolutionary spirit of the 

Filipinos, Rizal was visited by Pio Valenzuela, an aid of Bonifacio to get his word about an armed uprising against the Spaniards. He was also 

offered help for his escape but he refused. 
</p>
<p>
 On July 31, 1896, Rizal sailed to Manila with Josephine, his sister Narcisa and other relatives after the Spanish government took his offer as 

doctor for the Spanish soldiers fighting against the rebel forces of Jose Marti in Cuba. Upon reaching Manila, Rizal was informed that his boat to 

Cuba had already sailed, thus, he was transferred to the Castilla then anchored in Cavite until another boat, the Isla de Panay took him to 

Singapore. There, Pedro Roxas urged him to leave the boat, assuring him his safety in the British Territory but he refused. 
</p>
<p>
On September 30, 1896, while the <i>Isla de Panay</i> was sailing through the Middle East, the ship captain received orders of Rizal’s arrest on charges that he had a hand in the revolution that was already raging in the Philippines. Thus, Rizal arrived in Barcelona as a prisoner and was briefly detained at the Montjuich Penitentiary. The following day, he was shipped back to the Philippines on the boat Colon. His friends tried to rescue him by court proceedings. While the boat was in Singapore, Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor and some British lawyers who, through Lord Hugh Fort, filed writ of habeas corpus in the Supreme Court of the Straits Settlements for his release on the ground that he was illegally detained. But Judge Lionel Cox ruled that the Colon was a troopship flying the Spanish Flag and that he was a Spanish subject. Therefore his case was not under British 

jurisdiction. 
</p>


June 19, 1861: Dr. Jose P. Rizal, was born in Calamba, Laguna