Chaophraya Thammasakmontri
Sanan Devahastin na Ayudhya (also spelled Thephasadin among other variants; , , ; 1 January 1877 – 1 February 1943), better known by his noble title Chaophraya Thammasakmontri (, ), was an educator, writer and senior government officer of Siam/Thailand. He served as Minister of Public Instruction from 1915–1926, and was the first President of the National Assembly, serving from 28 June – 1 September 1932 and from 15 December 1933 – 26 February 1934. Personal life Sanan Devahastin na Ayudhya was born near the Hua Met Shrine, Saphan Han district, Phra Nakhon province, Bangkok, on 1 January 1877. When he was eight years old his father died and his life changed, although this misfortune proved providential in some ways to his future career as an educator, minister and key member of the court of King Rama VI. Despite being the son of a senior nobleman and a direct descendant of King Rama I, he helped mothers with gardening and trading, and was contracted to undertake buttonhole stitching from a young age. Through these enterprises, he learned to be hardworking, compassionate, and thrifty, and not to be discouraged by unforeseen drawbacks - all valuable lessons that enabled him to flourish in both his education and his later work as Minister of Public Instruction, a position similar to Minister of Education today. Education and Career Senan Devahastin Na Aydhaya studied at Wat Bophitphimuk School, Suankularb Wittayalai School and Sunanta School, followed by the Teacher Training School from 1892 - 1894, where he earned a teaching certificate and became one of the first graduates in the initial cohort of qualified schoolteachers in Thailand. He taught for approximately two years, and then on 4 May 1896, as a scholarship student with the Thai Ministry of Education, he left Thailand to continue his studies at Borough Road College in Isleworth, west London (later incorporated into Brunel University), under the direction of Sir Robert Laurie Morant. After his studies in Britain and following a three-month study tour of India and Myanmar, he returned to Thailand and established the Thai education system based on the British school system. He was awarded the title Chaophraya Thammasakmontri and became Lord Chamberlain in the King's Court. Known as the father of modern Thai education, Chaophraya Thammasakmontri laid the foundations of contemporary learning in the country and was one of the forward-thinking educators who helped found and build Chulalongkorn University, the country's first higher education institution. After resigning from government service, Chao Phraya Thammasakmontri collaborated with his eldest daughter, Chailai Thephasadin Na Ayudhaya, to convert his family home into Satree Chulanak School to promote education and provide scholarships for talented young students. A "reformist aristocrat and an early figure of public intellectual", Chaophraya Thammasakmontri, also known as Khru Thep, "initiated the use of verse as a medium for political and social commentary". A volume of his poems and writings has recently been published by Butterfly Book, an independent Bangkok publishing house set up by Chaophraya Thammasakmontri's late granddaughter, the best-selling