Phraya The Thai nobility was a social class comprising titled officials (''khunnang'', th, ขุนนาง) in the service of the monarchy. They formed part of a hierarchical social system which developed from the time of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (14th c ...

Ratsadanupradit Mahitsaraphakdi ( th, พระยารัษฎานุประดิษฐ์มหิศรภักดี; 1857–1913, born Khaw Sim Bee ( th, คอซิมบี๊; , ) was a

Thai Chinese Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais), Thais of Chinese origin ( th, ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; ''exonym and also domestically''), endonym Thai people ( th, ชาวไทย), are Chinese descenda ...

provincial administrator. He was the youngest of the six sons of Khaw Soo Cheang, a trader from

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefect ...

in China. As a member of the Khaw family of Ranong which held the governor's post in

Ranong Ranong ( th, ระนองPronunciation) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of the Ranong Province and the Mueang Ranong District. The town covers completely the area of the ''tambon'' Khao Niwet (เขานิเ� ...

for generations, Khaw was assigned to become governor of

Trang Trang may refer to: Places * Trang province, Thailand ** Trang, Thailand, capital city of Trang province ** Trang Airport ** Trang railway station **Trang River *Trang, a sub-district of Mayo district, Pattani province, Thailand *Trang (commune), ...

in 1890. His most significant contribution was the introduction of the

rubber tree ''Hevea brasiliensis'', the Pará rubber tree, ''sharinga'' tree, seringueira, or most commonly, rubber tree or rubber plant, is a flowering plant belonging to the spurge family Euphorbiaceae originally native to the Amazon basin, but is now ...

to Thailand, which at his time was only grown in

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. ...

. It has since become one of the major crops of Thailand. He also initiated the connection of Trang with

Nakhon Si Thammarat Nakhon Si Thammarat Municipality ( th, เทศบาลนครนครศรีธรรมราช, ; from Pali ''Nagara Sri Dhammaraja'') is a municipality (''thesaban nakhon'') in Southern Thailand, capital of Nakhon Si Thammarat prov ...

and

Phatthalung Phatthalung (, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities ...

by road as well as the railroad connection to

, one of the first railways in Thailand. In 1902, he was assigned to become the commissioner of Monthon Phuket and held the post until his death in 1913. A monument commemorating him was erected in the city of Trang. In 1992, he was also honored as one of the five most distinguished government officials in administration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratsadanupradit Mahitsaraphakdi, Phraya 1857 births 1916 deaths Khaw na Ranong family Members of the Privy Council of Thailand Phraya Thai people of Chinese descent Chao mueang of Thailand

See also

References