Prediction of the 1868 eclipse and the Wah-Ko expedition
Predicción del eclipse de 1868 y expedición de Wah-Ko
- Date
- 1868 · confidence high
- Place
- Wah-Ko, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand
- Credited to
- King Mongkut (Rama IV)
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
King Mongkut calculated in advance the total solar eclipse of 18 August 1868 and organised an expedition with European guests to observe it at Wah-Ko. His prediction proved very accurate and is a landmark of modern astronomy in Siam.
Mongkut caught malaria on the expedition and died on 1 October 1868. The popular claim that he got the moment right to within seconds is repeated in Thai sources and has not been checked against independent records.
What it led to
- Siam's scientific prestige in the West
- modernisation of astronomy and the calendar in Siam
- Thailand's National Science Day (18 August)