Google celebrates Jose Rizal’s 158th birthday with doodle

MANILA, Philippines — Google marked the 158th birthday of the country’s national hero Dr. Jose Rizal on Wednesday with a doodle.

The doodle done in sepia, has at its center the image of the national hero who was born in Calamba, Laguna on June 19, 1861. To Rizal’s left is a quill pen representing his work as an author and a magnifying glass on his right which represents his profession as a physician.

The doodle’s background has an excerpt of Rizal’s writings, while below his image are images of two books — that could be interpreted as his masterpieces Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and El filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed) — books that helped trigger the revolution against the Spanish colonial rule of his time.

In its webpage dedicated to Google doodles, Google said the art “celebrates Filipino author and physician Jose Rizal, whose passionate writings and selfless devotion inspired the Philippine nationalist movement.”

“Educated in Manila, Rizal traveled overseas to study philosophy and medicine at the University of Madrid, the University of Paris, and the University of Heidelberg. Inspired by his mother’s failing eyesight, he trained under prominent European ophthalmologists Louis de Wecker and Otto Becker and became an accomplished eye surgeon,” said Google.

“A frequent contributor to La Solidaridad, a newspaper published in Barcelona, Rizal advocated for the Philippines to be integrated as a province of Spain, represented in the Spanish parliament, and for its citizens to be granted such basic rights as freedom of assembly and expression, and equality under the law,” Google added.  (Editor: Mike U. Frialde)