14 Facts About Henry Alabaster

Henry Alabaster was a British-born diplomat who became an advisor to King Chulalongkorn of Siam.

Henry Alabaster was born in 1836, the son of James Chaloner Alabaster and Harriet Woodman.

Henry Alabaster's paternal aunt, Mary Ann Criddle, was a notable artist, while his younger brother Chaloner Alabaster was an English diplomat and administrator in China.

Henry Alabaster later became the acting consul, during which time he worked closely with the king, including on the building of the first modern road in Thailand, Charoen Krung Road.

Henry Alabaster resigned from consular service after a dispute with Somdet Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse, and returned to Britain, where he completed his 1871 book The Wheel of the Law, a study of Buddhism which incorporated a translation of Chaophraya Thiphakorawong's Nangsue Sadaeng Kitchanukit.

Henry Alabaster returned to Siam in 1873 to serve as private secretary to King Chulalongkorn.

Henry Alabaster oversaw many modernization efforts at this time, many of Thailand's firsts.

Henry Alabaster was the first director of the kingdom's map-making division, established in 1875, and had teams of surveyors develop maps for use in building roads and telegraphs as well as protecting territorial waters.

Henry Alabaster died in 1884, at the age of 48, three days after suffering paralysis of his lower jaw.

Henry Alabaster remained in his position until his death, when he was buried with the full honors of a Phraya in Bangkok Protestant Cemetery.

Henry Alabaster married Palacia Emma Fahey in 1865; they had four children.

Henry Alabaster married a Thai woman, Perm, during his second sojourn in Siam; they had two sons, both of whom held the rank of Phraya.

Henry Alabaster's descendants were given the Thai surname of Savetsila, meaning "white stone".

Henry Alabaster was the paternal grandfather of Air Chief Marshal Siddhi Savetsila, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1980 to 1990.