Bhumibol Adulyadej (1927-2016) was king of Thailand from 1946 until his death in 2016. He was the ninth sovereign in the Chakri dynasty, which was founded in 1782, and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. Bhumibol became monarch after his brother Ananda, the uncrowned king, was found shot dead in 1946, shortly before his coronation. Ananda’s death is still a mystery. Bhumibol’s name is sometimes spelled Phumiphon Adunyadet.
Somdet Phra Chao Yu Hua Bhumibol Adulyadej was born on Dec. 5, 1927, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his father was studying at Harvard Medical School. The family returned to Thailand, but after their father’s death, Bhumibol and his brother were sent to be educated in Switzerland. Bhumibol was then 2 years old. Apart from a brief return in 1938, he did not visit Thailand again until late 1945.
In Switzerland, Bhumibol developed a love of jazz. He led a small jazz orchestra; played several instruments, especially the clarinet; and was a prolific songwriter.
After the death of Ananda, Bhumibol was named as the new sovereign by the Thai parliament. The country’s absolute monarchy had been abolished in 1932. Bhumibol chose to delay his coronation and returned to Switzerland, where he studied law at the University of Lausanne. He was crowned King Rama IX on May 5, 1950, and married Princess Sirikit on April 28 of that year.
Bhumibol’s role symbolized the unity of the Thai people. Bhumibol was the great-grandson of King Mongkut, on whose life the book Anna and the King of Siam (1944) by Margaret Landon and the American musical The King and I (1951) were both based. Bhumibol died on Oct. 13, 2016.
