Tomorrow is Chulalongkorn Day in Thailand
Tomorrow like every October 23 is public holiday in Thailand. It is Chulalongkorn Day. The king was one of the most respected kings of the Kingdom.
His complete name is Phra Bat Somdet Phra Maha Chulalongkorn Poraminthra Chunla Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua or Rama V if you prefer to remeber his dynastic name. King Chulalongkorn ruled the Kingdom of Siam from 1873 to 1910. His reign was characterized by the modernization of Siam with immense government and social reforms. Under his reign were postal services (1885) and railroads (1893) put in place, the first university, the first business school, military school and naval school were founded, slavery was abolished (1895) and banknotes were introduced (1902) . In a context where its neighbors were colonized by French and British, Chulalongkorn, through its policies and actions, including some territorial cessions to the British Empire and French Indochina, managed to save Siam from colonization.
He was the first king to take trips abroad, to Singapore, India and Europe. He is often presented as the king of the opening to the West. After a reign of 42 years, Chulalongkorn died the 23th October 1910 . He is the grandfather of the present King Rama IX and is still the subject of active worship.
Note : the novel Anna and the King tells the story of Anna Leonowens , a British governess at the court of Siam in the 1860s who took care of the education of the children of King Mongkut (Rama IV) including Chulalongkorn.
