Hilaria del Rosario Aguinaldo

Hilaria del Rosario Aguinaldo (b. 1877 - d. March 6, 1921) was the first wife of General Emilio Aguinaldo. She was married to Aguinaldo on New Year's Day, 1896, the very same day he joined the secret society that would initiate Asia's very first anti-colonial revolution, the Katipunan. Although at the time the title "first lady" was not used, and did not refer, to the wife of the President of the Philippines (it first started to be used to refer to the wives of governor-generals under American colonization), today she is considered the first First Lady of the Philippines.

As Mrs. Aguinaldo, she complemented Emilio Aguinaldo's military campaigns with community service and social work, caring for wounded soldiers and their families. In 1899, as the president's spouse, she established the Hijas dela Revolucion (Daughters of the Revolution) that later became Asociacion de la Cruz Roja (Red Cross Association), considered a kind of precursor of the present Philippine National Red Cross.  For this, she raised funds for medicine and other supplies.

She was captured by American troops in 1900 and reunited with her husband after his capture by the Americans in 1901.

Reference

• http://top40-charts.com/pedia.php?title=Hilaria_Aguinaldo Charts.com (accessed on 26 February 2008)

See also

• http://www.filipiniana.net/userpics/10001/normal_F000000001073.JPG Hilaria del Rosario Aguinaldo in Filipiniana.net

• http://www.filipiniana.net/ArtifactView.do?artifactID=PRR026000001 Constitution and by-laws of the Philippine Red Cross, 17 February 1899. In http://www.filipiniana.net/ Filipiniana.net Online Digital Library. (19 December 2008)

Category

Great Philippine Women

Philippine Women

Patriots and Heroines in the Philippines

Philippine Women in the Revolutionary and Peace Struggle