The young Rizal studied in Biñan under G. Justiniano Aquino Cruz, and then later at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. Jose Rizal received his Bachelor of Arts on March 14, 1877 with a grade of "sobresaliente" with highest honor.

Rizal studied Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas and Agriculture at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He left for Europe on May 5, 1882. He studied Medicine and Philosophy and Letters in Madrid, and finished these courses in 1884 and 1885.

Rizal began writing his Noli me Tangere ( The Social Cancer ) in 1884. He printed 2,000 copies in Berlin, Germany in 1886 but released it in March 1887.

El Filibusterismo, sequel to Noli, was printed in Gante, Belgium in 1891.

Rizal organized La Liga Filipina, a secret organization, on July 3 1892. It aimed to change the way the government was run in a peaceful way. In July 7, 1892, less than a week after the La Liga was organized, Captain General Despujol ordered Rizal's exile to Dapitan, on suspicion of his involvement in rebellion. In Dapitan, he opened a school with fourteen(14) pupils.

On December 29, 1896, he wrote the Last Farewell, and was executed in Bagumbayan (now Luneta) the next day.



Excerpts from Talambuhay ng mga Bayani by Rene Alba