Chronology of Rizal

1861 June 19 Rizal is born in the town of Calamba, Laguna, the seventh child of Franc isco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso y Quintos June 22 Rizal is baptized as Jos Rizal Mercado 1872 February 17 - Three Filipino priests, Mariano Gomez, Jos Apolonio Burgos and Jaci nto Zamora, are executed on charges of subversion June 26 Rizal attends Ateneo Municipal de Manila as a day scholar 1874 November 14 Rizal composes the poem Al Nio Jess 1875 December 5 Rizal writes the poems El Combate: Urbiztondo, Terror de Jol, El embarque, nd Y es espaol: Elcano el primero en dar vuelta al mundo 1876 April 1 Rizal pens the poem Alianza ntima entre la religin y la buena educacin December 3 Rizal pens the poems El cautiverio y el triunfo, Entrada triunfal de los Reyes Catlicos en Granada and La conquista de Granada 1877 March 14 - Rizal at the age of sixteen obtains his bachelor of arts degree from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila with the general average of sobresaliente (excell ent). June Rizal meets Miss Segunda Katigbak 1878 January 6 Rizal enrolls in philosophy and letters at the University of Santo Toms (UST) May 21 Rizal passes the surveyor s examination (but is granted a license only afte r three years) June 2 Rizal enrolls in preparatory and proper medicine at UST September 11 Using the pen name P. Jacinto, Rizal begins his diary Memorias de u n estudiante de Manila 1879 November 22 Rizal composes his award-winning poem, A la juventud filipina (To the Philippine Youth) 1880 April 13 Rizal wins first prize for the allegory El consejo de los Dioses December 8 Ateneo Municipal de Manila produces Rizal s operetta Junto al Pasig 1881 January 25 Rizal writes a poem for the Ateneo rector entitled Al muy R.P. Pablo R amn, S.J., rector del Ateneo en sus das February 10 Rizal becomes secretary of the Academia de Ciencias Filosficonaturale s April 30 Rizal sketches a pencil drawing of Leonor Rivera 1882 May 3 Rizal sails for Spain and enrolls at the Universidad Central de Madrid wit h financial help from his brother Paciano August 20 Diariong Tagalog publishes Rizal s first essay Amor Patria, using Laong La an as pen name while in Barcelona 1883 June 17 Rizal arrives in Paris June 18 - Rizal visits Leannec Hospital June 20 Rizal visits Lariboisiere Hospital where Flix Pardo de Tavera is an exter n September 28 Rizal goes back to Madrid and enrolls in Universidad Central for a second course in medicine November 4 Rizal s sister Soledad marries 1884 March 11 Rizal begins to study German seriously June 21 Rizal is conferred the degree of licentiate in medicine

June 25 Rizal delivers a speech honoring Filipino painters Juan Luna and Flix Res urreccin Hidalgo July 1 Through the newspaper El Progreso, Rizal asks for freedom of the press an d the Filipino right of representation in the Spanish Cortes August 31 News of Rizal s speech about the two Filipino painters makes him famous in the Philippines 1885 January 1 In a letter, Paciano tells Rizal that it would be too dangerous for hi m to return immediately to the Philippines June 16 - Rizal is informed by Manuel Hidalgo about cholera in Manila June 19 Rizal finishes his degree in licentiate in philosophy and letters in Uni versidad Central de Madrid with a grade of sobresaliente November 19 Rizal learns about the gambling habit of Filipinos in Madrid December 4 - Rizal goes to Paris and practices ophthalmology with Dr. de Wecker at the Crugen Clinic, against his brother Paciano s wishes 1886 February 2 Rizal arrives in Germany April 22 Rizal writes the poem A Las Flores de Heildelberg (To The Flowers of Heid elberg) July 14 - Rizal becomes a member of the Chess Club of Germany October 31 Rizal meets Dr. Adolf Bernard Meyer, naturalist of the Dresden Univer sity December 11 Mximo Viola joins Rizal in Berlin December 15 Rizal starts teaching Viola the German language 1887 January Rizal becomes a member of the Ethnographic Society of Berlin February Rizal becomes a member of the Anthropological Society and the Geographi c Society of Berlin March 21 Copies of Noli Me Tangere become available April Rizal submits his thesis Arte Mtrica del Tagalog to the Ethnographic Society of Berlin June 19 Rizal celebrates his 26th birthday in Geneva, Switzerland August 5 Rizal arrives in Manila August 30 An order prohibiting the possession and reading of Noli Me Tangere is issued September - Olimpia, Rizal s sister, dies of hemorrhage while giving birth 1888 February 8 Rizal arrives in Hong Kong February 28 Rizal arrives in Japan March 15 Rizal sees O-Sei-san for the first time April 28 - Rizal arrives in the United States May 8 Rizal starts travelling across the American continent June 2 - Rizal arrives in London, England July 9 Spanish senator Vida denounces Rizal in the Senate of Madrid, calling Nol i Me Tangere anti-Catholic December 13 La Solidaridad is founded with Marcelo H. del Pilar as editor in chi ef 1889 March 31 Rizal s Me piden versos (They Ask Me For Verses) is published in La Solidar idad under the pen name Laong Laan April 12 Dr. Luis M. de Pardo delivers a speech against Rizal and Noli Me Tanger e before the Spanish Congress May 23 Rizal s brother-in-law Mariano Herbosa dies of cholera July 12 - Rizal arrives in Paris, spending days proofreading Sucesos de las Isla s Filipinas September 10 Rizal meets Sr. Segismundo Moret, a former minister of the Spanish government who admires Noli Me Tangere 1890 February 2 Rizal arrives in Brussels, Belgium

May 26 Rizal s annotations of Morga s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas become widely r ead in the Philippines May 28 Through a letter Rizal informs M. H. del Pilar about the Filipinos gamblin g habit in Madrid June 28 Friars harass Rizal s family in Calamba July 20 Rizal s family loses the land case against the friars 1891 March 21 Rizal finishes his second novel El Filibusterismo, but plans to revise some chapters October 7 Rizal informs del Pilar that he will stop writing for La Solidaridad October 9 Rizal tells Ferdinand Blumentritt of his decision to cease writing for La Solidaridad in order to avoid a schism among the Filipinos in Spain December 6 - Rizal s family reunites in Hong Kong December Rizal is almost attacked by an Augustinian friar 1892 January 30 Juan Luna endorses Rizal s plan of establishing a Filipino colony in No rth Borneo February - The Kataas-taasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan is founded by Andrs Bonifacio June 21 Rizal writes a letter to Governor-General Eulogio Despujol, informing th e latter of his return to the Philippines July 6 Rizal is arrested and imprisoned in Fort Santiago for sedition and anti-r eligion September 1 Rizal starts corresponding with Father Pablo Pastells on matters of philosophy and religion July 7 Despujol orders Rizal s exile to Dapitan August 20 Rizal writes a poem A Don Ricardo Carnicero for his guardian in Dapitan September 21 Rizal wins the lottery s second prize 1893 April 30 Rizal s El consejo de los Dioses is published in La Solidaridad May 16 Rizal s prison guardian Carnicero is replaced August 28 - Leonor Rivera, Rizal s girlfriend for eleven years, dies August 29 Rizal s mother visits him in Dapitan 1894 February Governor-General Ramn Blanco visits Rizal in Dapitan June Rizal makes a successful operation on his mother s cataract August Rizal encourages businessmen in Dapitan to form a company August 21 Rizal exchanges information with Dr. Adolf Meyer about animal and inse ct classification 1895 January 1 Rizal finishes the draft of the statutes and regulations for the Socie ty of Dapitan Agriculturists February - Rizal meets Josephine Bracken February 22 Rizal asks George Taufer for the hand of Josephine Bracken June 1 Governor-General Blanco permits Rizal to establish an agricultural colony in Dapitan October 22 - Rizal sends a poem to his mother entitled Mi retiro (My Retreat) 1896 July 1 Po Valenzuela visits and informs Rizal of the impending revolution against the Spanish colonial government July 30 Rizal receives a letter informing him that his application to go to Cuba to serve the Spanish army as a military doctor has been accepted August 23 The Philippine Revolution starts with the Cry of Pugadlawin September 4 On the ship bound for Spain, Rizal receives news implicating him as the cause of disturbances in the Philippines December 11 In the presence of his defender Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade, Rizal is charged with sedition. The following day he writes his defense December 15 Imprisoned in Fort Santiago, Rizal writes a manifesto to the Filipin os to stop the revolution. The Spanish authorities, however, do not publish the

document December 27 Rizal is sentenced to death December 29 Rizal is reputed to have written an unsigned poem, later to become k nown as Mi ltimo adios (Last Poem of Rizal) December 30 At 7:03 am Rizal is executed. In the afternoon, Narcisa discovers a newly dug grave at Paco Cemetery. She marks it with a marble plaque, with Rizal s initials in reverse 1898 May 1 The Spanish fleet surrenders to the Americans in the Battle of Manila Bay July Narcisa retrieves Rizal s remains, storing them in an urn made by Romualdo Te odoro de Jess 1901 June 11 The Philippine Government passes Act No. 137 which renames the province of Morong to Rizal in honor of the national hero September 28 The Philippine Assembly approves Act No. 243 to build the Rizal mon ument in Luneta 1912 December 30 The Philippine Assembly unveils the Rizal Monument, twelve years aft er the Act s approval. Rizal s remains are transferred to their final resting place 1956 June 12 The Philippine Government passes Republic Act No. 1425 which mandates al l public and private schools, colleges and universities to include a curriculum on the life and works of Jos Rizal, particularly a study of his novels Noli Me Ta ngere and El Filibusterismo