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Ferdinand Blumentritt (September 10, 1853, Prague – September 20, 1913, Litoměřice), was a teacher, secondary school principal in Litoměřice, lecturer, and author of articles and books in the Philippines and its ethnography. He is well known in the Philippines for his close friendship with the writer and Propagandist, José Rizal, and the numerous correspondence between the two provide a vital reference for Rizal historians and scholars, including his last letter from prison before the execution.
Blumentritt was born in Prague (now the Czech Republic, then the capital of Kingdom of Bohemia in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire). He is a nephew of the Hungarian German writer Ferenc Virághalmi.
Blumentritt wrote extensively about the Philippines, although he never visited the islands, corresponding with the then Filipino student and writer José Rizal, who later became national hero. Blumentritt became one of Rizal's closest confidants although they met only once. He translated the latter's first book, Noli Me Tangere, into German and wrote the preface to Rizal's second book, El filibusterismo, although he was against its publication. These two novels are commentaries disguised as fiction which angered both the Catholic Church and the Spanish colonial government, and which eventually led to Rizal's 1896 trial and execution.
Blumentritt died in Litoměřice (German: Leitmeritz), Bohemia. He is memorialized in the Philippines by numerous public parks and streets. Among them are Blumentritt Road, Blumentritt LRT Station, Blumentritt railway station, the Blumentritt Market in Metro Manila and the Blumentritt Street in Naga City and Tuguegarao.
Main works
Alphabetisches Register der Reifeprüfungsvorschriften. Leitmeritz (Czech: Litoměřice), 1909
Alphabetisches Verzeichnis der gebräuchlichsten Aquarellfarben. Leitmeritz (Czech: Litoměřice), 1910
America and the Philippines (1900)
Die Chinesen auf den Philippinen. Leitmeritz (Czech: Litoměřice), 1879
Diccionario mitologico de Filipinas. Madrid, 1895
Einige Manuskripte aus dem 17. und 18. Jahrhundert. Leitmeritz (Czech: Litoměřice), 1904
Einiges über Juan Valera. Leitmeritz (Czech: Litoměřice), 1894
Introduction to the Noli me tangere of Rizal. Barcelona, 1889
Introduction to the Sucesos de las islas Filipinas of Antonio de Morga, annotated by Rizal. Paris, 1890
Die Erdbeben des Juli 1880 auf den Philippinen
Die Goldfundstellen auf den Philippinen und ihre Ausbeutung
Holländische Angriffe auf die Philippinen im 16., 17., und 18. Jahrhundert. Leitmeritz (Czech: Litoměřice), 1880
Das Kaiserbild. Leitmeritz (Czech: Litoměřice), 1899
J. C. Labhart-Lutz. Ein Nachruf. Leitmeritz (Czech: Litoměřice), 1889
Die Philippinen. Eine übersichtliche Darstellung der ethnographischen und historischpolitischen Verhältnisse des Archipels. Hamburg, 1900
Die Sprachgebiete Europas am Ausgange des Mittelalters, verglichen mit den Zuständen der Gegenwart. Prague (Czech: Praha), 1883
Strömungen und Gezeiten an der Küste von Mindanao.
Der "Tratado Anonimo" über den Aufstand der Cumuneros gegen König Carl V. Leitmeritz (Czech: Litoměřice), 1878
Versuch einer Ethnographie der Philippinen. Gotha, 1882
Vocabular einzelner Ausdrücke und Redensarten, welche dem Spanischen der philippinischen Inseln eigenthümlich sind. Leitmeritz (Czech: Litoměřice), 1882, 1883–1884|8, 1885|5.
Literature
Jindřich Tomas: Jose Rizal, Ferdinand Blumentritt and the Philippines in the New Age. The City of Litomerice: Czech. Publishing House Oswald Praha, 1998.
Johann Stockinger: „Ich interessiere mich von jeher nur für die spanischen Colonien“ – Neueste Erkenntnisse für die Blumentritt-Forschung aus der Korrespondenz mit Hugo Schuchardt. (Wien, 1998)
The Dapitan Correspondence of Dr.Jose Rizal and Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt. Compiled by Romeo G. Jalosjos. The City Government Dapitan City: Philippines, 2007. ISBN 978-971-93553-0-4.
Harry Sichrovsky: Der Revolutionär von Leitmeritz. Ferdinand Blumentritt und der philippinische Freiheitskampf . Wien: Österr. Bundesverl., 1983. ISBN 3-215-04989-9
Harry Sichrovsky: Harry Sichrovsky: Ferdinand Blumentritt: An Austrian Life for the Philippines. Manila, 1987.
Lea Blumentritt-Virághalmy, Egy szudétanémet nagypolgár európai és délkelet-ázsiai kapcsolathálója. Szentendre, 1999) /Resume/
Lea-Katharina Steller (née Blumentritt-Virághalmy): Ferdinand Blumentritt /1853-1913/. In: Series of the Collections for Research into Sudeten German Minority. I.. Szentendre, 2006. Szentendre, 2006.
Lea-Katharina Steller (née Blumentritt-Virághalmy), Ferdinand Blumentritt In: Unitas, a scholarly publication of the University of Santo Tomas. Ed. I. C. Abaño OP. Manila, 2006/Dezember.
Harry Sichrovsky: "Blumentritt and Rizal. The Austrian Friend behind the Philippine National Hero." Austromedia Corp, Makati 2011 (152 pages), ISBN 978-971-95152-0-3
Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson, et al.: Philippine-Austria Relations: 500 years. Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Austria, 2017. ISBN 978-3-200-05061-7
