The Life of Jose Rizal

Vocabulary flashcards covering the life, family, education, artistic and scientific contributions, and final years of Jose Rizal.

José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda

The full name of Jose Rizal, born in Calamba, Laguna on June 19, $1861$.

Father Rufino Collantes

The Batangueno priest who baptized Rizal and premonitioned he would be a great man because of his big head.

Father Pedro Casañas

A native of Calamba and the godfather of Jose Rizal.

Francisco Mercado Rizal

Rizal's father, born in Biñan, Laguna, whom Rizal called 'A model of fathers.'

Doña Teodora Alonso

Rizal's mother and first teacher, described by him as 'A woman of more than ordinary culture.'

Saturnina (Neneng)

The eldest Rizal sibling who acted as a maternal authority and financially sustained Jose's education in Europe.

Paciano

Jose's older brother and greatest influence, a former student of Father José Burgos who joined the Philippine Revolution as a general.

Narcisa (Sisa)

The sister who located Rizal's unmarked grave in Paco Cemetery and purchased the adjacent lot to protect it.

Lucia

The Rizal sister whose husband, Matriano Herbosa, was denied a Christian burial because of his connection to Jose.

Concepción (Concha)

The sibling who died of a fever at age $3$, marking Rizal's first experience of losing a loved one.

Josefa (Panggoy)

The politically active sibling who joined the Katipunan and was the longest-living Rizal sibling, passing away in $1945$ at age $80$.

Trinidad (Trining)

The sister who safeguarded the alcohol stove containing the manuscript of Mi Último Adiós.

Soledad (Choleng)

The youngest of the Rizal siblings who became a teacher and married Pantaleon Quintero.

Tio Manuel

The uncle who encouraged Rizal to develop his frail body through physical exercises like horse riding, walking, and wrestling.

Tio Gregorio

The uncle who intensified Rizal's voracious reading of good books.

Father Leoncio Lopez

The figure who fostered Rizal’s love for scholarship and intellectual honesty.

GOMBURZA

The three martyred priests whose execution in $1872$ awakened Rizal's spirit of patriotism.

The Story of The Moth

Rizal's favorite childhood story in which the moth is likened to a martyr who sacrifices its life for a noble idea.

Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz

Rizal's first formal teacher during his schooling in Biñan, Laguna.

Sobresaliente

The academic rating of 'excellent' Rizal achieved upon graduating from Ateneo Municipal with $5$ medals.

Jose Mercado

The alias Rizal used to travel to Spain in $1882$ to avoid detection by Spanish authorities.

Dr. Louis de Weckert

A leading French ophthalmologist in Paris whom Rizal worked for as an assistant in $1885$.

Dr. Otto Becker

A distinguished German ophthalmologist under whom Rizal worked at the University Eye Hospital in Heidelberg.

Noli Me Tángere

Rizal's first novel, published in Berlin, which exposed the 'social cancer' of Spanish friar abuse.

El Filibusterismo

The darker sequel to Rizal's first novel, published in Ghent and dedicated to the memory of GOMBURZA.

Sa Aking Mga Kababata

Rizal's first poem written in Tagalog at age $8$, also known as 'To My Fellow Children.'

Mi Primera Inspiración

The first verifiable and officially recorded poem by Rizal, written at age $14$ and dedicated to his mother.

El Consejo de los Dioses

An allegorical play written by Rizal at age $19$ that won first prize in a national literary competition in $1880$.

Mi Retiro

An autobiographical poem written in $1895$ during Rizal's exile in Dapitan at the request of his mother.

The Triumph of Science over Death

A clay statue by Rizal depicting a nude woman on a skull holding a torch, symbolizing progress overcoming ignorance.

Conchologist

A title given to Rizal due to his collection of $346$ species of shells.

$$\text{Draco rizali}$$

A small flying lizard species named by European scholars in honor of Jose Rizal.

La Solidaridad

The official newspaper of the reformists where Rizal served as honorary president and published scholarly essays.

La Liga Filipina

A progressive, nonviolent civic organization founded by Rizal on July $3$, $1892$, at the house of Doroteo Ongjunco.

Governor-General Eulogio Despujol

The Spanish official who ordered Rizal’s banishment to the remote coastal outpost of Dapitan.

Lt. Col. José Togores Arjona

The head of the seven-member military court that unanimously voted to convict Rizal.

$$\text{Consummatum est}$$

Rizal’s last words before his execution, translating to 'It is finished' or 'It is accomplished.'