ABSTRACT
Early Life Maria Corazon Cojuangco Aquino was born on January 25, 1933, in Tarlac Province, about fifty miles north of Manila. The sixth of eight children, "Cory," as she became known, was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She belonged to a wealthy and politically influential landowning family in the Philippines. Her father, Jose Cojuangco, was a sugar baron who also managed the family bank and later served in the national assembly. Both her grandfathers were senators. She was educated at exclusive girls' schools in Manila, run by Roman Catholic nuns. In 1946, when her father moved to the United States, she continued her education at Raven Hill Academy in Philadelphia and Notre Dame School in New York, both Catholic high schools. As a young girl, she showed deep religious conviction that would continue to be a major influence in her life. While a student in the United States, she had a brief foray into American politics as a member of the Junior Republicans and supported Governor Thomas Dewey in the 1948 presidential campaign.
