Ferdinand Blumentritt

Ferdinand Blumentritt
Blumentritt in 1905
Born	September 10, 1853 (1853-09-10) Prague, Austro-Hungarian Empire
Died	September 20, 1913(1913-09-20) (aged 60) Litoměřice, Austro-Hungarian Empire
Occupation	Author, lecturer, ethnography
Language	German, English, Czech
Citizenship	Austro-Hungarian

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 extensivelly 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.