A life greatly lived is abundant of good deeds with genuine purpose. It is, with no doubt, that Jose
Rizal is worthy of recognition. His contributions to the country are immense. He enormously
influenced Filipinos during the Spanish Colonial era to make a stand against an oppressive
government. It is safe to claim that Jose Rizal is called Philippine National Hero for a reason, in
fact, on December 30, Rizal Day is a Philippine holiday that commemorates his death anniversary.
In addition to that, he is also known for being intelligent and wise. He has established himself as
an author and novelist, for which he wrote Noli me tángere, and El Filibusterismo; a poet, his
known poems are Sa Aking Mga Kababata (1869) and Felicitacion (1875); a polymath – he’s
considered a genius for having the capability to speak 22 languages fluently and a wide range of
knowledge about Science, Math, Music, Architecture, Literature, Philosophy, And Politics. Above
all of that, his greatest contribution to the country is his role to the Philippine Revolution. Through
the mentioned novel - Noli me tángere, which he finished on February 21, 1887. In actuality, with
today’s generation, almost every country has their own recognized figures to look up to, although
some are still up for debate. It’s a common ideology.
Resembling to how Filipinos commend Rizal, a well-known figure named Mikhail Lomonosov,
born in Russia, is also a notable personage. He’s one of the most famous polymath in the world,
along with the names of Benjamin Franklin, Gottfried Leibniz, or Omar Khayyam. Mikhail
Lomonosov is a Russian polymath. He has a broad scope of knowledge about Natural Science,
Chemistry, Physics, History, Art, Literature, Philology, and History. Lomonosov’s revolutionary
contribution focuses on his poetic oeuvre. His work in revamping the Russian versification in the
late 1730s and early 1740s was a revolution that resulted in the establishment of Russia's poetic
form. He was a poet who established the foundation of modern Russian literary language. He has
also lead scientific revolution for discovering and instituting the mechanical explanation of
gravitation in 1748. He also proposed the wave theory of light as well as considering heat as a
form of motion. He’s also a proud advocate of art as proven to his good deed of founding the first
mosaic factory outside of Italy, and he was responsible for the creation of forty mosaics, more than
half of which are still in use today. Overall, his contributions to Russia are indeed notable.
Although his revolutionary deeds aren’t focused on going against a specific governing body like
Rizal’s, it still falls under the same idea as revolution is defined by the National Geographic (n.d.)
as a radical change in the established order.
To sum it all, Jose Rizal’s contribution to the Philippines is undeniable. His good deeds and
genuine concern to the country has been seen by his countrymen. The root of these which is his
natural intelligence has also greatly contributed into the said awakening of the Filipinos’ mind set
over an undemocratic government during the Spanish Colonial. He’s a notable figure worthy of
being commended. Personages like Rizal and Lomonosov are deserving of praise and interest as
they are people who affected abounding number of people through their revolutions.