12 moments

1. Birth at the Old Thonburi Palace

   1804-10-18 · Thonburi Palace, Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand)

   

   Mongkut was born at the Old Thonburi Palace, then in Siam. This is the opening fixed point of his documented life chronology. Coordinates identify Thonburi Palace, the article's linked Old (Thonburi) Palace.

2. Move to the Grand Palace

   1809-01-01 · Grand Palace, Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand)

   

   After his father was crowned Rama II, Mongkut moved with the royal family from Thonburi to the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The source gives the year but not a more precise move date.

3. Departure for Wat Samorai

   1824-01-01 · Wat Samorai (now Wat Rachathiwat), Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand)

   

   Following his initial three-day stay at Wat Mahathat, Mongkut departed for the forest monastery then called Wat Samorai to study meditation. The source places the departure in the 1824 ordination sequence; the exact departure date is not stated. Wat Samorai is the former name of Wat Rachathiwat.

4. Early stay at Wat Mahathat

   1824-01-01 · Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit, Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand)

   

   Immediately following ordination, the prince-monk stayed for three days at Wat Mahathat before leaving for Wat Samorai. The source places this stay in the 1824 ordination sequence but does not provide exact days.

5. Ordination at Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram

   1824-01-01 · Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram (Wat Phra Kaew), Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand)

   

   Mongkut entered the Buddhist monkhood at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, beginning the twenty-seven-year monastic period that preceded his accession.

6. Meeting Buddhawangso at Phetchaburi

   1829-01-01 · Phetchaburi, Siam (now Thailand)

   

   While traveling as a monk, Mongkut met Buddhawangso at Phetchaburi; the encounter helped inspire his monastic reform program. Coordinates represent the town of Phetchaburi; the precise meeting site is not identified.

7. Return to Wat Samorai

   1829-01-01 · Wat Samorai (now Wat Rachathiwat), Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand)

   

   Mongkut returned to Wat Samorai, where his reforming monastic work developed; scholarship places this return in 1829. Wat Samorai is the historical name of the present Wat Rachathiwat; coordinates identify the modern temple complex.

8. Arrival as first abbot of Wat Bowonniwet

   1836-01-01 · Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand)

   

   Mongkut moved from Wat Rajadhiwat to Wat Bowonniwet in a boat procession and became the monastery's first abbot, making it a center of the Dhammayut reform movement.

9. Arrival at Wat Pho for the Lenten Robes ceremony

   1865-10-13 · Wat Pho, Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand)

   

   Mongkut arrived at Wat Pho in Bangkok for the ceremony of the Lenten Robes; John Thomson's photograph records the appearance. The Commons category identifies the date as 13 October 1865 and the site as Wat Pho.

10. Visit to Wat Bowonniwet as king

    1868-01-01 · Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand)

    

    Near the end of his reign, Mongkut visited Wat Bowonniwet and identified the need to repair the spire of its great chedi. The source supports the year but not a more precise date.

11. Solar-eclipse expedition to Wakor

    1868-08-18 · Wakor (Whae-Whan), Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Siam (now Thailand)

    

    Mongkut traveled to Wakor to observe the total solar eclipse that he had calculated, accompanied by Siamese and European officials. He contracted malaria during the expedition. Coordinates use Mongkut's stated eclipse-viewing position of 11°39′N, 99°42′E; the precise historical camp location is uncertain.

12. Death in Bangkok

    1868-10-01 · Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand)

    

    Mongkut died in Bangkok six weeks after returning from the Wakor eclipse expedition, having contracted malaria during the journey. Coordinates represent central historic Bangkok; the source's infobox gives Bangkok rather than a more precise death site.