José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso
Realonda was born on June 19, 1861,
in the town of Calamba, Laguna.
 He was baptized JOSE RIZAL
MERCADO at the Catholic of Calamba
by the parish priest Rev. Rufino
Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casañas as
the sponsor.
 He was the seventh child in a family of
11 children (2 boys and 9 girls). Both his
parents were educated and belonged to
distinguished families.
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SATURNINA RIZAL-Neneng (1850-1913)
Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel
Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.
PACIANO RIZAL- (1851-1930)
Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied
at San Jose College in Manila; became a farmer and later
a general of the Philippine Revolution.
NARCISA RIZAL-Sisa (1852-1939)
The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a
teacher and musician.
OLYMPIA RIZAL-Ypia (1855-1887)
The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887
from childbirth.
LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)
The fifth child. Married MatrianoHerbosa.
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MARIA RIZAL-Biang (1859-1945)
The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan,
Laguna.
JOSE RIZAL-Pepe (1861-1896)
The second son and the seventh child. He was executed
by the Spaniards on December 30,1896.
CONCEPCION RIZAL-Concha (1862-1865)
The eight child. Died at the age of three.Her death was
Rizal’s first sorrow in life
JOSEFA RIZAL-Panggoy (1865-1945)
The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster
TRINIDAD RIZAL-Trinidad (1868-1951)
The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family
to die.
SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)
The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero.
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1865 – 1867
During this time his mother taught him how
to read and write. His father hired a
classmate by the name of Leon Monroy who,
for five months until his (Monroy) death,
taught Rizal the rudiments of Latin.
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At about this time two of his
mother’s cousin frequented Calamba.
Uncle Manuel Alberto, seeing Rizal
frail in body, concerned himself with
the physical development of his
young nephew and taught the latter
love for the open air and developed
in him a great admiration for the
beauty of nature.
 Uncle
Gregorio, a scholar, instilled
into the mind of the boy love for
education. He advised Rizal:
"Work hard and perform every
task very carefully; learn to be
swift as well as thorough; be
independent in thinking and make
visual pictures of everything."
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Jose Rizal’s first teacher was his mother, who had
taught him how to read and pray and who had
encouraged him to write poetry. Later, private tutors
taught the young Rizal Spanish and Latin, before he
was sent to a private school in Biñan.
Rizal first studied under Justiniano Aquino Cruz
in Biñan, Laguna before he was sent to Manila. As to
his father's request, he took the entrance
examination inColegio de San Juan de Letran and
studied there for almost three months. The
Dominican friars asked him to transfer to another
school due to his radical and bold questions.
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When he was 11 years old, Rizal entered the Ateneo
Municipal de Manila. He earned excellent marks in
subjects like philosophy, physics, chemistry, and
natural history. At this school, he read novels; wrote
prize-winning poetry (and even a melodrama—“Junto
al Pasig”); and practiced drawing, painting, and clay
modeling, all of which remained lifelong interests for
him.
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Rizal eventually earned a land surveyor’s and
assessor’s degree from the Ateneo Municipal while
taking up Philosophy and Letters at the University of
Santo Tomas. Upon learning that his mother was
going blind, Rizal opted to study ophthalmology at the
UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. He, however,
was not able to complete the course because “he
became politically isolated by adversaries among the
faculty and clergy who demanded that he assimilate
to their system.”
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Without his parents' knowledge and consent,
but secretly supported by his
brother Paciano, he traveled alone to Madrid,
Spain in May 1882 and studied medicine at
the Universidad Central de Madrid where he
earned the degree, Licentiate in Medicine.
Also, he also attended medical lectures at
the University of Paris and theUniversity of
Heidelberg. In Berlin he was inducted as a
member of the Berlin Ethnological Society and
the Berlin Anthropological Society under the
patronage of the famous pathologist Rudolf
Virchow.
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Rizal, 11 years old, a student at the Ateneo
Municipal de Manila.
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José Rizal as a student at the University of Santo
Tomas.
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José was designed by nature to be an artist. This
he revealed before he was five years of age, for
without any assistance from others he began to
draw with his pencil and to mould in wax or clay
any object he saw about him. Fortunately, his
mother, father, and uncles recognized this unusual
talent and gave him every encouragement.
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A Group of Sketches by Rizal.
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There was a also a time when Rizal was able to draw a
bird flying nearby without lifting the pencil he was using
from the paper till the picture he drew was finished. He
can also draw a running horse and a chasing dog.
Jose Rizal also owned a pony and used it to have long
rides into the surrounding country which was rich in
scenery. He also took long walks together with his big
black dog named Usman. He also loved to play with
the doves in his neighborhood. He learned about the
myths and legends in Laguna after sleeping through
the nut in a little straw hut used by Laguna farmers
during the harvest season. Rizal was also good in
hand tricks which he perfected to amaze the simple
folk and performed magic lantern exhibitions.
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The little boy spent also much of his time in the
church, which was conveniently near, but when the
mother suggested that this might be an indication
of religious inclination, his prompt response was
that he liked to watch the people.
Even in his childhood, Rizal already knew how to
respect the rights of others and requested his
elders to reason with him rather than get mad at
him for small offenses. He became a welcome
companion for adults even at his young age since
he respected their moods and was never a
hindrance to their activities.
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Three uncles who were brothers of his mother also
had much influence on the early childhood of Jose
Rizal. The youngest uncle named Jose, took care of
teaching regular lessons to Rizal. His huge uncle
Manuel developed his physique until he had a body
of silk and steel and no longer a skinny and sickly
boy. The last uncle, Gregorio instilled in the mind of
Rizal that it was not easy to obtain something until
you put effort into it.
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The childhood of Jose Rizal can be characterized by
his desire to learn, even frequenting the church
nearby his home to watch and observe people but
not to be religiously inclined. Jose Rizal was not a
physically blessed or strong child however, he had a
strong will guided and taught by his mother, his first
teacher. He learned almost without the use of books.
His mother was the one who laid the foundation of
his great knowledge achieved in such a short time.
His brilliance was also the character of the young
Jose Rizal.
Thank
you for
listening!