Ramai IV of Thailand
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King Mongkut (Rama IV), (October 18, 1804 - October 18, 1868) was a king of Siam 1851-1868. Historians have widely regarded him as one of the most remarkable kings of Chakri dynasty. Prince Mongkut was the son of King Rama II and his first wife Queen Sri Suriyendra, whose first--born son died at birth in 1801. Prince Mongkut was five years old when his father succeeded to the Throne in 1809. According to the law of succession, he was the first in line of succession; but when his father died, his influential half-brother, Nangklao, was unanimously concurred by the nobility to assume the throne. Prince Mongkut decided to enter the priesthood and went in exile in many uptowns. As if the fate of Siam had been written by him, prince Mongkut spent these 27 years searching for Western knowledge; he had studied Latin, English, and astronomy with the missionary and the sailors. Prince Mongkut was presumbly praised by the historians to be the dexterously English-speaking Monarch, while some proved that his younger brother, vice-king Pinkao, could speak even better English.
After 27 years of pilgrimage, King Mongkut succeeded to the throne in 1851. He took the name "Phra Chom Klao", though foreigners continued to call him Mongkut. His awareness of the threat from the regional imperial powers, the British and French, led him to many innovative activities. He ordered the nobility to wear shirts while being given his audience; this was to show that Siam was no longer barbaric from the Western point of view. King Mongkut hired the English lady Anna Leonowens, whose influence was later the subject of great Thai controversy, to be his sons' tutor. It is still debated how much this affected the worldview of one of his sons, Prince Chula, who succeeded to the throne. Anna claimed that her conversation with Prince Chula about human freedom, and the story-telling of "Uncle Tom's Cabin", became the inspiration for his abolition of slavery almost 40 years later.
King Mongkut's last task in 1868 was to invite the British consuls from Singapore to watch the solar eclipse, which he had predicted 2 years earlier, at Wakor district, Prachuap Khiri Khan province. This became perilous when he and Prince Chula were infected with malaria. The king died several days later, and was succeeded by his son, who survived the malaria. King Mongkut was well-known almost 100 years posthumously as a result of his story with Anna becoming the famous play "The King and I".
Reportedly, he remarked to one of his Christian missionary friends: 'What you teach us to do is admirable, but what you teach us to believe is foolish'.
See also: Chakri dynasty, The King and I
