JOSE N. LUNA
(1861-1917)
Physician and Revolutionist
The fourth among the seven children of Joaquin Luna and Laureana Novicio, Jose Luna
was born in Trozo, Manila on June 28, 1861. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree from the Ateneo
Municipal de Manila, he studied medicine at the University of Santo Tomas, where he was granted
his licenciado en medicina y cirujia in March 1884. He served as municipal physician of Binondo,
north district of Manila, from 1888 until the Revolution. A lover of music, he could play the piano,
the guitar, and the mandolin with certain accomplishment, and at least on two occasions acted as
impresario for Italian opera companies which visited Manila.
In the evening of September 16, 1896, he was arrested together with his brothers for
alleged complicity in the Revolution. In the early part of September 1898, during the second stage
of the Revolution, he was appointed provisional representative to the Malolos Congress. Ironically,
toward the end of the same month, he was also appointed health officer of the eight sanitary
district of Manila by the American occupation forces. He was also named member of the faculty of
medicine and surgery in the newly founded Universidad Cientifico-Literaria de Filipinas by a
presidential decree of October 19. The year following and after the out breaking of the Filipino-
American War, he served as medical officer in the revolutionary army.
When peace was restored, Dr. Luna established a polyclinic in his house on Magdalena
Street which enjoyed a considerable clientele. He performed operations. His specialty was
parturition, or child-delivery. He visited noted clinics and medical centers in Europe from April to
October 1912. In 1913, he transferred his clinic to Tortuosa Street, Sampaloc, where he practiced
until his death on January 21, 1917.
He was married to Rosario Melgar, by whom he had a daughter, Marina.
Reference:
Filipinos in History Volume II. Manila: National Historical Institute, 1990
Quirino, Carlos. Who’s who in Philippine History. Manila: Tahanan Books, 1995.
No comments:
Post a Comment