Siam Society

The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage (Thai: สยามสมาคมในพระบรมราชูปถัมภ์; S̄yām s̄mākhm nı phrabrm rāchūpt̄hạmp̣h̒) was established in 1904 with a mission to promote knowledge of the culture, history, arts, and natural sciences of Thailand as well as those of neighbouring countries. The premises of the Society in Bangkok, Thailand on Asok Montri Road include a library with many rare books and the Kamthieng House Museum in a historic teak house. The Society has a regular programme of lectures, study trips, cultural events, and music performances. The Society publishes two scholarly journals, the Journal of the Siam Society and the Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society, and several books. The Society is involved in preservation of heritage through the Siamese Heritage Trust. The membership includes people of around 60 nationalities.

On 26 February 1904, a meeting of some fifty persons at the Oriental Hotel, Bangkok formed the Siam Society. ”The first resolution proposed was to the effect that those there assembled should form themselves into a society for research and investigation in matters appertaining to Siam.” The first meeting of the Society's Council on 10 March 1904 resolved: “The objects of the Society shall be the investigation and encouragement of Art, Science and Literature in relation to Siam and neighbouring countries.” A total of 103 signed up as members before the first Annual General Meeting on 7 April 1904.

In 1925, the Natural History Society of Siam, founded in 1913, was merged into the Siam Society.

In 1939, the Society changed its name to the Thailand Research Society in conformity with the nationalist policies of the government of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram and the change of the country's name from Siam to Thailand. The change was reversed in 1945.

In 1954, the Society founded a Research Center, funded by donations, including from King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and the Ford Foundation. The Center undertook pioneering research on archaeology, zoology, and the anthropology of minority communities including the Phi Tong Luang or Mlabri people. .

The emblem of the Society was designed in 1926 by Prince Narisara Nuwattiwong, showing “the head of an elephant holding with his trunk a garland of flowers.” The emblem incorporates a motto, Thai: วิชชายังให้เกิดมิตรภาพ, “Knowledge Gives Rise to Friendship,” composed by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab and Prince Dhani Nivat. The Society explained: “This motto tries to convey the idea that the search for knowledge is the bond which unites the Siamese and foreign members of the Society in a friendly spirit of collaboration.” The emblem first appeared in the Journal of the Siam Society in 1927. A three-dimensional model of the emblem was place above the stage of the newly built auditorium in 1932.

In its early years, the Siam Society rented rooms for meetings, and kept its library at various locations. In 1922, it moved into its first semi-permanent address, on the first floor of the Falck and Beidek Building in Chartered Bank Lane near the Oriental Hotel.

In 1931, Ahamad Ebrahim Nana, a businessman of Indian origin born in Thonburi, gifted the Society 3 rai (0.48 hectare) of land on the outskirts of Bangkok. A building, consisting largely of an auditorium and library, was designed by Edward Healy, a British architect, and officially opened on 28 February 1933. The auditorium has a high ceiling and three-metre-high glass doors on each long side that open on to the gardens. A stage is located at the far end, and the interior is decorated with antique carved woodwork from Southeast Asia.