Jacobo Zóbel de Zangróniz

Jacobo Zangroniz Zóbel (October 12, 1842, Manila – October 7, 1896, Manila) was a Filipino pharmacist and businessman. He is the progenitor of the prominent Philippine Zóbel de Ayala family. He is also a lead figure in the rise of Filipino nationalism.

Biography Jacobo Zangroniz Zóbel was born on October 12, 1842, in the Philippine capital of Manila. He was the only son in a family of three children of the German immigrant Jacobo Hirsch Zóbel and the Spanish Ana Zangroniz-Zobel, a daughter of a judge of the Real Audiencia of Manila. His father worked in Manila as a pharmacist, with his own pharmacy under the name Botica de Don Jacob Hirsch Zóbel on Calle Real in Intramuros. His grandfather, Johannes Andreas Zóbel, arrived in the Philippines from Hamburg, Germany in 1832, together with his wife, Cornelia Hirsch-Zobel, and their son, Don Jacobo Hirsch Zobel. Johannes Andreas Zóbel came from a long line of German pharmacists and established the Botica Zóbel pharmacy in 1834, located in Calle Real 28 in Intramuros.

Zóbel grew up in Germany and completed a study of pharmacy at the Universidad Central de Madrid. He also studied to become a civil engineer. A study that he did not fully complete. He also took up natural sciences. It was there he explored his lifelong fascination with medicine, chemistry and archaeology. In doing so, he mastered eleven languages. He befriended the young numismatist Don Antonio Delgado (1805–1879) from Madrid, who inspired his scholarship on antiquarian coins. He traveled to several museums in Europe to research more about his collecting hobby and he published the classic monograph titled Memoria Sobre Las Monedas Libiofenicias o Teudetanas which is still published and used in Spanish universities to this day. He graduated from the university in 1864 In 1863, Zóbel returned to the Philippines. From early 1866, Zóbel took over the management of the Botica from his father, who died at sea between Europe and the United States in November of that year during a voyage with one of his sisters. Zóbel was mayor of the city of Manila for a time during the period of Governor-General Carlos María de la Torre y Navacerrada. His term as mayor ended on December 31, 1870.

Brought up as a liberal, Zóbel welcomed his appointment by Governor General de la Torre as a member of the Manila Municipal Board and the Sociedad Económica de los Amigos del País. During his term, Zóbel introduced many liberal reforms: public schools, the first tree-planting activities and campaigned for representation in the Spanish Cortes and also promoted equal opportunity for all Filipinos, Creoles or natives alike. He also opened the first public reading room and library during his term. After the outbreak of the revolution, In 1872, Zobel was arrested during the Cavite mutiny for alleged complicity.