DR.Jose Rizal the national hero of the philipines he was born on june 19,1861 in town of calamba laguna. he was the 7nt child in the family of 11 children 2 male and 9 females both his parent were educated and belonged to distinguished families.His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal, an industrious farmer whom Rizal
called "a model of fathers," came from Biñan, Laguna; while his mother,
Teodora Alonzo y Quintos, a highly cultured and accomplished woman whom
Rizal called "loving and prudent mother," was born in Meisic, Sta. Cruz,
Manila.
At the age of 3, he learned the alphabet from his mother; at
5, while learning to read and write, he already showed inclinations to
be an artist. He astounded his family and relatives by his pencil
drawings and sketches and by his
moldings of clay. At the age 8, he wrote a Tagalog poem, "Sa
Aking Mga Kabata," the theme of which revolves on the love of one’s
language. In 1877, at the age of 16, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts
degree with an average of "excellent" from the Ateneo Municipal de
Manila. In the same year, he enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at the
University of Santo Tomas, while at the same time took courses leading
to the degree of surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo. He finished
the latter course on March 21, 1877 and passed the Surveyor’s
examination on May 21, 1878; but because of his age, 17, he was not
granted license to practice the profession until December 30, 1881. In
1878, he enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas but had
to stop in his studies when he felt that the Filipino students were
being discriminated upon by their Dominican tutors. On May 3, 1882, he
sailed for Spain where he continued his studies at the Universidad
Central de Madrid. On June 21, 1884, at the age of 23, he was conferred
the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on June 19,1885, at the age of
24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of
"excellent."
