King Chulalongkorn is credited with saving Thailand (then known as Siam) from the grasp of foreign powers during the heyday of European imperialism at the end of the nineteenth century. He did this mainly through a combination of modernizing reforms and shrewd diplomacy. King Chulalongkorn’s full name is Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hu. King Chulalongkorn was born on September 20, 1853. He was given a broad education, including foreign tutors such as Anna Leonowens, whose life was later the subject of popular films like Anna and the King. When his father, King Mongkut, died in 1867 the young crown prince was still only fifteen years old, so he was placed under the care of a regent. At the age of eighteen, Chulalongkorn left Thailand to visit Singapore, Java and India, then under European colonial governments, to study their systems of administration. This journey became the source of his ideas for the reform and modernization of Siam. Chulalongkorn Day is a national holiday in Thailand commemorating King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), the king who abolished slavery and introduced numerous reforms when the country was still called Siam. He succeeded to the throne in 1868 when he was 15 years old, was crowned in 1873, and ruled until his death in 1910. He had been a pupil of Anna Leonowens, who taught the young prince about Abraham Lincoln. The story of her stay in the royal court, and her teaching of the royal children and concubines, was told in Margaret Landon's book, Anna and the King of Siam. The book was the basis for the popular Broadway musical, The King and I.