Cover
story
: 10 Sep
2004
Vol.
21 No. 11 |
| Mahidol
Day |
|
By
Rachawadi / Photos by royal courtesy
|
|
|
| |
Prince Mahidol
of Songkhla was the son of King Chulalongkorn
(Rama V) and the father of both King Rama VIII
(1935-1946) and King Rama IX (1946-).
On his 100th birthday anniversary in 1991, the
late Prince was nominated by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) as a great personality of the world in
the field of culture. After that, the Thai government
designated the date of the Prince's death, 24
September, as Mahidol Day, in commemoration of
this extraordinary man, his contributions to the
development of medical education in Thailand and
whose selfless devotion to the well-being of the
whole nation will be briefly described below. |
| |
|
|
|
HRH Prince Mahidol as a child
|
| |
The Prince was
born in the Grand Palace in Bangkok in 1891 as
the 69th of 76 royal children of King Chulalongkorn.
At the age of 13 he was ordained as a novice at
the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and spent nearly
four months at Wat Bovoranivet Vihara in Bangkok,
before returning to the palace to continue his
study. The next year, he was sent to Harrow, England,
to study English. In 1907, he was enrolled in
the Royal Prussian Military College at Potsdam
and then transferred to the Imperial German Naval
College at Flensburg, where he graduated in 1911
with the second highest marks in the final examination
and the honour of winning a submarine design contest.
In 1917, he went to the United States to attend
a pre-medicine course at Harvard. After an interruption
in 1920 when he came back to Bangkok to attend
the royal cremation of Queen Phatcharin, he received
his certificate in Public Health in 1921. Five
years later, he went back to Harvard to study
medicine and was awarded an M.D. degree in 1928
at the age of 37. |
| |
|
|
| |
| The prince was
married to Miss Sangwan, a commoner adopted by
Queen Savang Vadhana as a daughter, whom he first
met in the United States, in a royal ceremony
in Bangkok in 1920. The princess gave birth to
three children -- Princess Galyani Vadhana in
London in 1923, Prince Ananda Mahidol in Heidelberg,
Germany, in 1925, and Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej
in Massachusetts, U.S.A. in 1927. |
| |
| Top |
|
|
|
|
Her late Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra
with her three royal children (from left): Prince
Ananda Mahidol (King Rama VIII), Prince Bhumibol
Adulyadej (King Rama IX) and Princess Galyani
Vadhana |
| |
When
he returned home after receiving his C.P.H. In
1921, he was appointed Director General of University
Affairs. In this capacity, he was able to pursue
the implementation of an agreement which he had
negotiated and concluded with the Rockefeller
Foundation on assistance in medical and nursing
education. With the assistance and the donations
made by the Prince himself and other members of
the Royal Family, Thailand's first medical college,
Siriraj School of Medicine, was established.
After completing his medical study at Harvard,
he came home again in 1928 to start working tirelessly
for Siriraj. However, much to his disappointment,
he was not allowed to serve as an intern at the
hospital attached to the college because of his
noble status as a Prince of First Rank who was
high on the line of succession to the throne.
As the Prince was firm in his conviction of the
principle of human rights and his determination
to work for the health of the people, especially
the poor, he went to the North in April 1929 to
work as a resident doctor at McCormick Hospital,
an American missionary hospital in Chiang Mai.
There he took care of needy patients day and night,
and even donated his blood for them. Thus finally
he was able to carry out his mission in life to
help poor people. |
| |
|
|
|
A commemorative
stamp issued in 1994 on centenary of the birth
of HRH Prince Mahidol
|
| |
| Unfortunately,
Prince Mahidol did not live long to continue his
much-needed service. After working in Chiang Mai
for less than a month, he came back to Bangkok
to attend the funeral of a senior member of the
Royal Family. Then he fell gravely ill and never
was he able to go to the North again. After several
months' confinement to bed, the Prince passed
away on 24 September 1929 at the young age of
38 years and 8 months. |
| |
|
|
| His
late Royal Highness Prince Mahidol with Prince
Bhumibol |
| |
|
Today Prince Mahidol is remembered as the Father
of Modern Medicine of Thailand. A statue has been
erected to his memory at Siriraj Hospital. A memorial
ceremony is held here on Mahidol Day every year
in addition to other commemorating activities. |
| |
| |
|
 |
|
