Anacleto del Rosario

Anacleto del Rosario
Born	13 July 1860 Santa Cruz, Manila, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Died	2 May 1895 (aged 35)
Nationality	Filipino
Alma mater	Ateneo de Manila University, University of Santo Tomas
Occupation(s)	chemist, notably a bio-chemist and analytical chemist, pharmacist
Spouse	Valeriana Valdezco
Children	3, Jose, Luis, Rosa
Parents	Eugenio del Rosario (father) Casimira del Rosario (nee. Sales) (mother)

Anacleto del Rosario y Sales (13 July 1860, Santa Cruz, Manila – 2 May 1895) was a leading chemist in the Philippines during the Spanish era in Philippine history. Regarded as the "Father of Philippine Science and Laboratory", del Rosario invented the formula for producing a pure kind of alcohol from tuba in a nipa palm. This formula won for del Rosario the first prize during the World Fair in Paris, France in 1889. Del Rosario extracted castor oil from the palma christi, literally the "palm of Christ" (castor bean), a native plant in the Philippines.

Anacleto del Rosario was born in Santa Cruz, Manila. Born to a native Filipino family, he gained high honors in Ateneo de Manila University and University of Santo Tomas, from Ateneo de Manila University he met Dr. José Rizal. He was known to be the first homegrown scientist of the Philippines by becoming the first Director of the Manila City laboratory. His position lead him to establish the beginnings of Science and technology in the Philippines by increasing the standards for quality control on essential items and investigation of natural resources. He married once and had three children.

Early life

Anacleto del Rosario is born in 13 July 1860 at Santa Cruz, Manila to Eugenio del Rosario and Casimira del Rosario (nee. Sales). He was the sixth of eleven children in the family. His father was a cordon manufacturer for the Spanish colonial army in the Philippines. His father died when he was five years old. The del Rosario family lived in the district of Quiotan, now named Sales after the maternal family name. The family relied on selling fruits and vegetables for a living. His mother Casimira taught the young Anacleto on how to read the alphabet.

Education

Anacleto del Rosario first studied in a private institution, and his rather stern relative was his guardian who supervised his schooling. In return for the tutelage of his guardian, Anacleto had to wash the bottles in his Aunt's drugstore. Accounts from his son Jose relates that he escapes through the window of the bathroom of their own home just to go out and borrow books from classmates. His uncle, a lawyer, also supervised his schooling.

At the age of 13, he enrolled into Ateneo de Manila University as a third-year student. His intellect and diligence led him to earn the respect of his own schoolmates. He joined the Congregacion Mariana, a religious organization which only allows students of high moral and academic standing to join. He also became the president of the said organization. During this time he met José Rizal and he became acquainted with him. During his years in Ateneo, he made and sold electric bells , household fixtures, and toys to earn money. He gained his Bachelor in Arts degree on April 1, 1876 with the highest honors (Nota Maxima).

At the age of 16, along with José Rizal, he enrolled into University of Santo Tomas. He faced financial problems while studying in the University of Santo Tomas so he enrolled again into the Ateneo de Manila University. He studied land surveying and took part-time jobs. He received a degree in land surveying in 1881. He surveyed large tracts of land especially from affluent families such as the Aranetas and the Lopezes. Using the money earned from surveying, he decided to buy a microscope and books relating to microbiology. At the age of 22, he received a degree in pharmacy with the highest honors (sobresaliente), and a year later a Master of Science degree in pharmacy (Licenciatura). Other degrees include a prepatory course in Natural History (1876-1877), first year in Plant Pharmaceutical Matter (1877-1878), second year in Animal and Mineral Pharmaceutical Matter (1878-1879), third year in Chemical-inorganic Pharmacy (1879-1880), and fourth year in Chemical-organic Pharmacy (1880-1881). All of these except his first year has the highest honors. His first year has a high honors (notable).

Early career

Anacleto del Rosario first engaged in the pharmaceutical business. He first partnered with Don Enrique Perez and Don Benito Legarda in the importation and selling of pharmaceutical products. He started his own pharmacy from selling his own share in the partnership and named the pharmacy Farmacia A. del Rosario on calle San. Fernando, Binondo, (now San. Fernando St.). He then became a chemist at the LA Rosario distillery. During the outbreak of cholera in June 1882, under Fernando Primo de Rivera, he was assigned to the Lazareto de Mariveles. This piqued his interest in bacteriology and made extensive studies about the causes of cholera. Robert Koch isolated the Vibrio cholerae bacteria two years later in 1884.

In 17 June 1882, he was appointed as a pharmacist member(Vocal farmaceutico) of the Commission of Health. He also became a member of the Junta Inspectora de Bilibid in 11 March 1883. Two years later, it was named the Farmacetuco municipal de Binondo.

Final Years and Death

Final Years

Anacleto del Rosario became the secretary of the Junta Inspectora y Administradora del colegio de Farmaceuticos in 1891. The next year, he became the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce in Manila.

After this he tried to do a more thorough study of the chemical composition of the essential oil of ilang-ilang.

Death

Anacleto del Rosario died in 2 May 1895 due to Tuberculosis.

Marriages and Children

He married into Valeriana Valdezco even if her parents initially disapproved of him due to his financial condition.

He had three children althogether

• Jose del Rosario, a chemist
• Luis del Rosario, S.J., bishop then archbishop of Zamboanga
• Rosa del Rosario