- 10 September 1853–20 September 1913
Ferdinand Blumentritt was a secondary school history and geography teacher at the grammar school in Litoměřice (he was headmaster between 1900 and 1911). He received international acclaim for his historical, ethnographic, geographic, cartographic and linguistic works about the Philippines.
Although Ferdinand Blumentritt never visited the Philippines, his scientific work led to a close friendship with José Rizal, a prominent figure in the Philippine struggle for independence from Spanish colonial rule. Rizal and Blumentritt corresponded frequently. They met for the only time in 1887, when Rizal visited Litoměřice for five days. In December 1896 Rizal was condemned and executed in Manila for his patriotism, although almost two years after his death the national liberation movement, inspired by his ideas, brought about the surrender of the Spanish East Indies. Nowadays Rizal is a Philippine national hero and Blumentritt’s name is often to be found in public spaces around Manila. A major street, a skytrain station, a railway station, a neighbourhood and a park are all named after him, while his bust is situated in Luneta park.
Blumentritt published in German and his more prominent works include Versuch einer Ethnographie der Philippinen [Towards an Ethnography of the Philippines], Gotha 1882; Die Philippinen. Eine übersichtliche Darstellung der ethnographischen und historischpolitischen Verhältnisse des Archipels [The Philippines. Overview of Ethnographic and Historical-Political Relations in the Archipelago], Hamburg 1900; or the linguistic work Vocabular einzelner Ausdrücke und Redensarten, welche dem Spanischen der philippinischen Inseln eigenthümlich sind [Dictionary of Individual Expressions and Phrases Typical of the Spanish Philippine Islands], Litoměřice 1882–1885.
After Blumentritt’s death the teaching staff at the grammar school paid tribute to the work of their long-standing head and requested that an embossed tombstone plaque be made by Alexandr Liesek. The tombstone can still be seen in the town cemetery to this day. In 2001 a memorial plaque and bust of Blumentritt were unveiled in Litoměřice.
- References
Kotyza, O.; Smetana, J.; Tomas, J. (eds.): Dějiny města Litoměřic (History of the Town of Litoměřice). Litoměřice 1997.
Tomas, J.: The Litoměřice professor Ferdinand Blumentritt and his contact with the Philippines, especially with José Rizal, Vlastivědný sborník Litoměřicko (Litoměřice Homeland Studies Anthology) 13/1977, pp. 96–114.
Sichrovski, H.: Ferdinand Blumentritt: an Austrian life for the Philippines: the story of Jose Rizal's closest friend and companion. Manila 1987.
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