First Circumnavigator of the Globe Although many historians considered him as the first circumnavigator of the globe. Ferdinand Magellan never completed his voyage around the planet. Magellan a sea captain commanded a fleet of five wooden Spanish ships with 241 men on board and embarked on what is now considered as "the greatest of all epics of human discovery". Christopher Columbus the Italian explorer who discovered America for Spain traveled 8,000 miles aboard a Spanish ship across the Atlantic Ocean. But Magellan's men embarked on an expedition that brought them 42,000 miles around the planet.
The voyage began on September 20. 1519. Magellan and his three remaining ships reached the Philippines on March 17. 1521. On April 27 he was killed by the men of Lapulapu chieftain of Mactan Island in the Philippines. Only one ship the Trinidad with 18 European crewmen led by Sebastian del Cano and four Malay crewmen (maybe Filipinos) completed the trip around the world and arrived in Seville. Spain in 1522.
First Mass On March 31. 1521 (Easter Sunday) Spanish friar Pedro Valderama conducted the first Catholic mass in Limasawa. Leyte. Rajah Kolambu who forged a blood compact of friendship with Magellan two days earlier attended along with Rajah Siagu.
First Filipino Priest In 1590. Martin Lakandula was ordained as an Augustinian priest becoming the first native Filipino to serve as a friar. In 1906. Jorge Barlin became the first Filipino bishop under the Roman Catholic Church. The first Filipino archbishop was Viviano Gorordo while the first Filipino cardinal was Rufino Cardinal Santos.
First Chair It was said that Filipinos first used a chair in April 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan gave Rajah Humabon of Cebu a red velvet Spanish chair. According to Halupi a book of essays on Philippine history early Filipinos used to sit on the floor.
First Battle On April 14. 1521 the first battle between Filipinos and the European conquerors took place in Mactan. Cebu. Filipino chieftain Lapu-lapu defeated Magellan and his men. After Magellan was killed. Sebastian del Cano led his men back to Spain completing their voyage around the planet.
First Religious Order The Franciscans were the first Catholic religious order to establish their presence in the Philippines. The Franciscans came here in 1577; Jesuits. 1581; Dominicans. 1587; Recollects. 1606; Paulists. 1862; Sisters of Charity. 1862; Capuchins. 1886; and Benedictines. 1895.
First Filipina Directress According to Pampango historian Zoilo Galang. Sor Candida Ocampo was the first and only Filipino who became a directress of an Spanish institution in the Philippines. In 1594. Ocampo who was born in Camarines Sur was appointed as the directress of Colegio de Santa Isabel.
First Cannon Maker Even before the Spaniards came to the Philippines. Filipino natives had already learned the trick of making cannons perhaps from Chinese traders. Historians claimed that Panday Pira who lived between 1483 and 1576 had devised the cannons which Muslim leader Rajah Sulayman used to protect Manila against the invading Spanish troops. Panday Pira was from Tarlac.
First Chinese Kingdom After attacking Manila. Chinese conqueror Limahong established a kingdom near the mouth of Agno River in Pangasinan province on December 3. 1574. Agno was the seat of the old civilization. Historians have mentioned one Princess Urduja who ruled Pangasinan before the Spaniards came. In 1660. Filipino leader Malong attempted to establish another kingdom in Pangasinan.
First Revolt The first attempt to rise against Spanish colonial rule was carried out by chieftains of Bulacan led by Esteban Taes in 1587. On October 26. 1588. Spanish authorities discovered a plot by Magat Salamat of Hagonoy who tried to enlist the support of his relatives in Borneo.
First Mention of King of Tagalogs New historical writings have mentioned the name of one Raha Matanda or Rajah Ache (Lakandula) who ruled over Tondo a kingdom encompassing an area that now includes Bulacan. Metro Manila. Rizal and Quezon in the 16th Century. Rajah Matanda was the heir to his father's throne and was a grandson of Sultan Siripada I (Bolkeiah I) of Borneo. In 1643. Don Pedro Ladia of Borneo who claimed to be a descendant of Rajah Matanda started a revolt and called himself the king of the Tagalog. He was executed in Manila. Historians said that when the troops of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi attacked Manila in 1571 the men of Rajah Soliman - the king of Manila - rose up in resistance.
In 1847. Apolinario dela Cruz of Tayabas was considered king of the Tagalogs. Bernardo Carpio a mythical giant character was also regarded as a king of the Tagalogs. In the 1900s the revolutionary government proclaimed Macario Sakay as the president of the Tagalog Republic.
First Juan dela Cruz A certain Pantaleon Perez led the Pangasinan revolt on November 3. 1762. Perez assumed the name Juan dela Cruz Palaris. It was mentioned that on November 11. 1849 most illiterate Filipinos during the administration of Spanish governor general Narciso Claveria y Zaldua were given the Christian surname dela Cruz. Our great ancestors who could not read and write drew a cross as their signature on documents and so were known for their dela Cruz surnames. In contrast. Filipino descendants of rajahs and noble men were given the option to keep their names. Among the clans who were also exempted from forced labor and paying taxes under the Spanish rule were the Lakandulas. Solimans. Gatmaitans. Gatbontons. Salongas. Layas. Lapiras. Macapagals. Salamats. Manuguits. Balinguits. Banals. Kalaws among others.
First Filipino Printer The Spaniards introduced the art of printing in the Philippines almost half a century before the Americans learned how to use it. It is believed that the first book in the country was Doctrina Christiana en letra y lengua China which was printed in 1593 by Juan de Vera a Filipino-Chinese. In 1948. Fray Jose Gonzales of the Dominican Order discovered this book in the Vatican Library. Tomas Pinpin is regarded as the first Filipino printer. He was born in Abucay. Bataan but records about his birth were lost after the Dutch invaders destroyed the town of Abucay in 1646. Pinpin learned the art of printing from the Chinese artisans when he worked in the shop of Filipino-Chinese printer. Luis Beltran.
Among his works were Arte y Reglas de la Lengua Tagala (1610) and the Librong Pag-aaralan nang mga Tagalog nang Uicang Castila (1610) printed in Bataan. From 1609 to 1639. Pinpin printed more than a dozen titles. Other literary pieces which appeared during this period were the poems of Pedro Bukaneg (1590-1626). Fernando Bagongbanta (1605) and Pedro Ossorio (1625). The art of modern printing was discovered by German scholar Johannes Gutenberg (1394-1468). The Chinese however are credited for having developed their own system of printing hundreds of years before Gutenberg was born.
First Newspaper In 1637. Tomas Pinpin published Successos Felices (Fortunate Events) a 14-page newsletter in Spanish that is now widely regarded as the first Philippine newsletter. On December 1. 1846. La Esperanza the first daily newspaper was published in the country. Other early newspapers were La Estrella (1847). Diario de Manila (1848) and Boletin Oficial de Filipinas (1852). The first provincial newspaper was El Eco de Vigan (1884) which was issued in Ilocos.
First Novel According to literary expert Bievenido Lumbera the first Filipino novel was Ninay written by Pedro Paterno and published in 1880. Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere was published in 1887 while El Filibusterismo came out of the press in 1891. The first English novel written in English by a Filipino was Zoilo Galang's A Child of Sorrow.
First Woman Writer and Poet According to Pampango historian Zoilo Galang the first Filipino poetess was Leona Florentino of Ilocos while the first Filipino woman writer was Rosario de Leon of Pampanga. The first Filipino woman novelist. Galang added was Magalena Jalandoni from Visayas while the first Filipino woman who wrote an English novel was Felicidad Ocampo.
First Non-Catholic Marriage The first non-Catholic marriage in Manila under the Spanish control took place in the early 19th Century when American Henry Sturgis who arrived in the country in 1827 married Josephina Borras of Manila. They were wed aboard a British warship at the Manila harbor.
First Mining Firm In the early 19th Century. Johann Andreas Zobel founded the first iron and copper mining firm in Bulacan and Baguio. The first Zobel in the country was Jacobo Zobel Hinsch a German who went to Manila in 1849. One of the Zobels - Jacobo Zobel Zangroniz latter married Trinidad Ayala de Roxas an heir of the rich Ayala and Roxas families.
World's First Steel Church The steel church of San Sebastian now Basilica Minore is considered as the world's first-ever all-steel basilica. Designed by Don Genaro Palacios in 1883 this small jewel box church was prefabricated in Belgium. The steel plates weighing about 50,000 tons were brought to the Philippines in six ships. The walls were filled with mixed gravel sand and cement to fortify the structure. Stained glass windows from France were later installed. The church an earthquake-proof structure was completed in 1891. There were arguments that French architect Gustavo Eiffel who designed the Eiffel Tower of Paris and Statue of Liberty in New York was also the one who designed the San Sebastian Church.
First Hotel It is believed that Hotel del Oriente in Binondo. Manila was the first hotel built in the Philippines. The hotel was a two-story building with 83 rooms fronting the Plaza de Carlos III. It was a first-class hotel constructed in the 1850s just beside the famous landmark. La Insular Cigarette and Cigar Factory. The national hero - Jose Rizal - reportedly stayed at Room 22 of that hotel facing the Binondo Church. Hotel del Oriente was among the crown jewels of the old Binondo (or Minondoc as it was earlier known) which was named after binundok. It was part of the Provincia de Tondo (now Manila) and was declared one of its districts in 1859.
Both Hotel del Oriente and La Insular were burned down during the Japanese Occupation. The Metrobank building now occupies the former site of the two buildings. The oldest surviving hotel in the country is the Manila Hotel which was built in 1912. The world's first hotel was the Tremont which opened in Boston in 1829. It had a dining room for 200 people. 12 public rooms and 120 bedrooms.
First Republic Early Philippine republics were Kakarong de Sili republic in Pandi. Bulacan; Tejeros Convention in Malabon; and Biak na Bato republic in San Miguel. Bulacan. Historians however wrote that the first real Philippine republic was established in Malolos. Bulacan on January 21. 1899. Two days later the First Philippine Republic was inaugurated while General Emilio Aguinaldo was declared its first president.
First Autonomous Region Before the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) were formed in the 1980s. Panay Island used to have "Cantonal Republic of Negros". The Americans however abolished the republic and turned Negros into a regular province on April 30. 1901.
First American Civil Governor The first American civil governor in the Philippines became the 27th president of the United States. William Howard Taft who served in the Philippines from 1901 to 1903 was also the only man who became a US president (1909-1912) and then a Supreme Court chief justice (1921-1930). Known for his weight of over 300 pounds. Taft became a very notable person in the US and the Philippines. One of the largest road networks in Metro Manila the Taft Avenue was named after him. President McKinley sent him to head the Philippine Commission in 1900. His task was to form a civil government in a country disrupted by the Spanish-American War and the rebellion led by General Emilio Aguinaldo whom local historians called the country's first president.
First Superintendent of Manila Schools Dr. David Prescott Barrows one of the passengers of American ship USAT Thomas was appointed the first superintendent of schools for Manila and later the first director of the Bureau of Education. USAT Thomas was named after General George Henry Thomas a hero of the Battle of Chickamauga during the American Civil War. American journalist Frederic Marquardt coined the term Thomasites to refer to American teachers who came to the Philippines aboard USAT Thomas in 1901. (Source: Panorama Magazine)
First American College The Philippine Normal School (PNS) was the first college established in the country under the American government. PNS opened its campus to Filipino students in Manila on September 1. 1901. It became the Philippine Normal University on January 11. 1992.
First Registered Professionals A friend of Jose Rizal. Dr. Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera holds the distinction of being the first doctor to sign in the Book I of Registered Professionals on January 25. 1902. Pardo de Tavera a scientist was a part of the first Civil Government in the 1900s. Among the members of the Pharmacy profession it was Dr. Leon Ma. Guerrero who appeared as the first registrant on the second earliest compiled Book I. The date was May 22. 1903. Guerrero is known in history books as the first among many Filipinos to put the Philippines on the scientific map of the world. In Book I of Dentistry it was Dr. Wallace G. Skidmore who first registered on September 21. 1903. The Board of Dentistry was the first board of professionals created in 1899. The idea of organizing the boards of professionals came from the Americans who occupied the Philippines in 1899. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)
First Female Professionals Among Filipino women it was Maria Francisco de Villacerna who became the first lawyer; Honoria Acosta-Sison first physician; Catalina Arevalo first dentist; Encarnacion Alzona first historian; Celia Castillo first sociologist; Filomena Francisco first pharmacist; Belen Enrile Gutierrez first CPA; Socorro Simuangco first dermatologist; Carmen Concha first film director and producer; Criselda J. Garcia-Bausa first paleontologist; Felipe Landa Jocano first anthropologist; and Ali Macawaris first oceanographer.
First International Opera Singer Before Lea Salonga became famous in London. New York and Paris for her portrayal of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon a Filipino woman had long gained international recognition in the world of theater. Jovita Fuentes became famous in Europe for her opera lead roles in Madama Butterfly. Turandot. La Boheme. Iris. Salome and Li Tae Pe in the 1930s.
First Woman Barber In June 1927 issue of Philippine Free Press. Martina Lunud from Olongapo City was featured as "Manila's Lady Barber" who could also be the first professional woman barber. She had to find her niche in the male-dominated profession and worked for La Marina barbershop and People's barbershop in Sta. Cruz. Manila later. "This is not a girl's work. I think but I have done my best to a certain extent and my customers like my work," the Free Press quoted Lunud as saying. (Source: Ambeth Ocampo. Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Asia's First Airline The Philippine Airlines (PAL) which was established in 1941 takes pride in being Asia's oldest commercial airline. However huge financial losses forced its owner Lucio Tan to close the airline in September 2000. It resumed operations a few months later. The first commercial flight in the country was recorded on March 15. 1941 when a twin-engine Beech Model 18 owned by PAL carried five passengers from Manila to Baguio City in 45 minutes.
First Senate President The country's first senate president was Manuel Quezon (1917-1935) under the US government. The senate has produced a number of presidents and political luminaries such as Manuel Roxas. Sergio Osmena. Claro M. Recto. Jose Laurel. Camilo Osias. Eulogio Rodriguez. Juan Sumulong. Quintin Paredes. Lorenzo Tanada. Jose Diokno. Benigno Aquino. Ferdinand Marcos. Arturo Tolentino. Gil Puyat. Jovito Salonga. Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
First Female Justice Cecilia Munoz Palma became the first woman to top the bar exam with a score of 92.6 percent in 1935. Palma also became the first female prosecutor in 1947 the first woman judge at the Court of First Instance in the 1950s first female justice of the Supreme Court in 1973 and first female president of a constitutional commission in 1986.
First House Speaker Under Republic Eugenio Perez of San Carlos. Pangasinan became the first speaker of the House of Representatives under the Republic in 1946. Among the laws passed during his tenure were the Magna Carta for Labor the Minimum Wage Law the Rural Bank Law and the Central Bank charter.
First Woman Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Ramona Palabrica-Go became the first woman battalion commander in the history of the male-dominated Philippine Army in January 2003. She was appointed as commander of the elite Aviation Battalion under the Light Armor Brigade based at Fort Magsaysay in Laur. Nueva Ecija province. She was 45 years old and had three children at the time of appointment.
First National Celebration of June 12 The first national celebration of June 12 as Independence Day took place in 1962 under the Macapagal administration. Former President Diosdado Macapagal signed the law moving the celebration of the holiday from July 4 to June 12 on May 12. 1962. Quezon Representative Manuel Enverga was the one who proposed the law.
First American Multinational Firm Computer chips manufacturer Intel Philippines Mfg. Inc claimed that it was the first American multinational company that established a branch in the Philippines in 1974. Today the Philippine branch of Intel is one of the top exporters of semiconductor components in the country and contributes significantly to the cash flow of its mother company in the US which is said to be the world's largest corporation in terms of gross income.
First Aeta Lawyer At 26. Wayda Cosme became the first Aeta to become a lawyer when she passed the bar exam in 2001. Cosme a law graduate from Harvadian Colleges in San Fernando City. Pampanga works for the Clark Development Corp. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)
First Woman President In February 1986. Corazon Cojuangco Aquino widow of the late Senator Benigno Aquino became the country's first woman president and the country's 11th president. In January 2001. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a daughter of the late President Diosdado Macapagal became the 14th president of the Philippines and the second woman to assume the government's highest post.
First President in Prison Deposed President Joseph Estrada who lost the presidency to a military-backed people's revolt was arrested on charges of plunder and corruption in April 2001. His arrest fomented the now infamous May 1 mob revolt that was suppressed by government forces. As this was being written the trial of Estrada was still ongoing at the Sandiganbayan or the anti-graft court.
First Award of Ancestral Domain In what the Arroyo government described as a historic event and the first in the world it awarded on July 20. 2002 a certificate of ancestral domain title (CADT) for the town of Bakun in Benguet province where some 17,000 Kankanaey and Bago people live. The title covers some 29,444 hectares of ancestral land.
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