[10] Marcelo H. del Pilar was born at his family's ancestral home in sitio Cupang, barrio San Nicolás, Bulacán, Bulacan, on August 30, 1850.

D. Tomas Yson, a Filipino secular priest, performed the baptism, and Lorenzo Alvir, a distant relative, acted as the godfather.

The surname of Marcelo's paternal grandmother, "del Pilar", was added to comply with the naming reforms of Governor-General Narciso Clavería in 1849.

[18] In the municipality of Bulacán, he served as a "three-time" gobernadorcillo of the town's pueblo (1831, 1854, 1864-1865) and later held the position of oficial de mesa of the alcalde mayor.

[15] Don Julián and Doña Blasica had ten children: Toribio (priest, deported to the Mariana Islands in 1872),[20] Fernando (father of Gregorio del Pilar),[21] Andrea, Dorotea, Estanislao, Juan, Hilaria (married to Deodato Arellano),[22] Valentín, Marcelo, and María.

They gathered at Sr. Enrique Genato's almacén, where they frequently talked about the friars, affairs of the Philippines, liberty of nations, fall of the Carlists, insurrections, and wars.

Del Pilar attended many events such as funeral wakes, baptismal parties, weddings, town fiestas, and cockfights in the cockpits.

Del Pilar translated it into Tagalog language, Ang Pagibig sa Tinubúang Lupà (Love for the Native Land).

Sr. Chinchilla, the intendant of finance, proposed a set of regulations (Articles 52 and 53) which prohibited the friars from altering the tax lists of the cabezas de barangay.

The citizens of Malolos, particularly del Pilar, denounced Sr. Luna's measures, and shortly after the latter canceled Sr. Chinchilla's regulations, the whole townsfolk protested.

On September 30, 1887, Lanuza, with the secret assistance of del Pilar and José Centeno García (the civil governor of Manila), wrote a petition to Governor-General Emilio Terrero, demanding the natives' right to manage the fiesta.

On January 21 that year, a memorial to establish a school of "Arts, Trades, and Agriculture" was forwarded by del Pilar to the gobernador civil of Bulacan.

[75][78] Signed by the residents of the pueblos of the province, this was supported by liberal officials like Terrero, Quiroga, Centeno, Gómez Florio, and Julio Galindo (the captain of the Guardia Civil).

[86] General Antonio Moltó, Terrero's successor, ordered the arrest of the organizers of the anti-friar demonstration, abolished Quiroga's decree on funerals, and pardoned Fr.

On August 3 of the same year, del Pilar wrote Caiigat Cayó (Be as Slippery as an Eel) under the pen name Dolores Manapat.

Gregorio removed the book covers of Cuestiones de Sumo Interes and pasted Marcelo's pamphlets inside before distributing them after.

[116][117][118] These twenty-one young women asked the permission of Governor-General Weyler to allow them to open a night school where they could learn to read and write Spanish.

Del Pilar urged Rizal to write a letter in Tagalog to "las muchachas de Malolos," adding that it would be "a help for our champions there and in Manila.

[q] He was the History Professor of Rizal at the Universidad Central de Madrid and Grand Master of Masons of the Gran Oriente Español.

[129][130][131] A tireless editor, del Pilar wrote under several pseudonyms: Pláridel,[3][4] Dolores Manapat,[3][4] Piping Dilat,[3][4] Siling Labuyo,[4] Cupang,[4][132] Maytiyaga,[4][133] Patos,[4] Carmelo,[4] D.A.

Despite their statements and judgements, del Pilar, with the help of the Asociación Hispano-Filipina de Madrid, held banquets in honor of Calvo y Múñoz, Becerra, and Ramos Calderón.

In a letter dated April 29, 1890, del Pilar said that if Agustín de Burgos y Llamas will succeed Weyler as Governor-General, he may appoint Calvo y Múñoz as the new Director-General of Civil Administration but first the latter should introduce the bill on Philippine representation to the Cortes.

[141] On July 3, 1890, the bill's passage was halted after the liberal Sagasta was replaced by the conservative Antonio Cánovas del Castillo as Prime Minister of Spain.

On December 15, 1892, and January 15, 1893, del Pilar published two articles on La Solidaridad, entitled Ya es tiempo (Is it About Time!)

[166][167] In del Pilar's farewell editorial, he said: "Facing the obstacles that the reactionary persecutions bring in opposition to the circulation of this newspaper in the Philippines, we have to suspend our publication for some time.

[169][170] According to Mariano Ponce's account of his death, his last words were: "Please tell my family that I was not able to say goodbye, but that I died with my true friends around me… Pray to God for the good fortune of our country.

"[182][y] In another letter to his wife on August 3, 1893, he told her about his frequent nightmares: "I always dream that I have Anita on my lap and Sofía by her side; that I kiss them by turns and that both tell me: 'Remain with us, papá, and don't return to Madrid'.

In a letter to his wife on December 21, 1893, he said: "I am afraid of being too hasty, because in view of my present situation, a wrong step on my part will injure many persons, and even if I should pass out of this life, my compatriots would continue to accuse me of imprudence.

[196] For his 150 essays and 66 editorials mostly published in La Solidaridad and various anti-friar pamphlets, del Pilar is widely regarded as the "Father of Philippine Journalism.

[202][ac] In 1893, del Pilar also formed the Gran Consejo Regional de Filipinas, the first national organization of Filipino Masons.