Rafael Palma

Rafael Palma y Velásquez (Spanish: [rafaˈel ˈpalma]: October 24, 1874 – May 24, 1939) was a Filipino politician, Rizalian, writer, educator and a famous Freemason. He was a senator from 1916 to 1921 and was the fourth president of the University of the Philippines.

Biography

Palma was born in Manila on October 24, 1874, to Don Hermógenes Palma, a clerk at the Intendencia Office, and Hilaria Velásquez. His younger brother was the soldier-poet José Palma, the author of the Spanish poem Filipinas, which is, along with its subsequent translations, used in the Philippine National Anthem.

In 1885, he began his studies at the Ateneo de Manila and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1892, he began his law studies at the University of Santo Tomas. While enrolled in the university, he was employed in the Office of the Bureau of Lands.

He was also a reporter in La Independencia, the first Filipino daily newspaper, founded and directed by Antonio Luna. When Luna died in 1899, Palma assumed the paper's editorship. Aside from La Independencia, he was also involved in other papers, writing for La Patria, among others; and co-founding, along with Sergio Osmeña and Jaime de Veyra, El Nuevo Día, the first daily newspaper in Cebu.

In 1901, he passed the bar examinations. That same year, he founded the newspaper El Renacimiento, which was first published on September 3. He married Carolina Ocampo in February 1902. He left the newspaper work in 1903 and practiced law while also teaching at the Escuela de Derecho.