Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

• How old was Rizal when he died?

o 35 years, 6 months and 11 days old

• What is the first novel of Rizal

o Noli Me Tangere

• What is the title of Rizal's unfinished novel in Tagalog?

o Nakamisa

• Where and when did he finish his Bachelor of Arts degree?

o Areneo Municipal (now Ateneo de Manila) on March 23, 1872

• When and where did Rizal start formal schooling?

o In Biñan on 1869

• What was Rizal's first poem?

o "Sa aking mga kababata"

• What was Rizal’s first winning literary piece on the competition sponsored by the Artistic-Literary Lyceum?

o A La Juventud Filipina

• When and where did Rizal finish his medical course?

o Central University of Manila, on June 21, 1884, he was awarded the degree of Licentiate in Medicine.

• Who was the youngest sister of Rizal?

o Soledad

• Who was the oldest sister of Rizal?

o Saturnina

• Where did Rizal obtain his early schooling?

o Jose Rizal obtained his early schooling at a private school in Biñan, because Biñan at that time was famous for its private school. Rizal studied under Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz – a well-known teacher of young boys. Rizal was nine (9) years old when his parents sent to him to study in Biñan.

• Why did Rizal leave Japan when he was happy in that beautiful country and was in loved with a pretty Japanese girl?

o There is no doubt that Rizal and O-sei-san were deeply in love. If Rizal were a man without patriotism and without self-control, he would have stayed permanently in Japan. He could have married beautiful O-sei-san and lived happily with her. He could have a good life in Japan, for the Spanish legation offered him a job with a high salary. But he was dedicated to a noble mission - the welfare and freedom of his oppressed people. And nothing, even the love of the pretty girl and a good job could make him forgets his mission in life.

• Who became Rizal’s wife? How did they meet?

o Rizal has his last romance in Dapitan. He falls in love...