Louis Thomas Gunnis Leonowens (25 October 1856 – 17 February 1919) was a
British subject who grew up and worked in Siam (
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
). He was the son of
Anna Leonowens, famous as the English teacher hired by King
Mongkut to teach his children. Leonowens later served as an officer with the Siamese
Royal Cavalry and founded a Thai
trading company that still bears his name, Louis T. Leonowens Ltd. He was the basis of a major character in the 1944 novel ''
Anna and the King of Siam'', as well as other fictional works based on it.
Early life
Leonowens was the son of
Anna Leonowens ''nee'' Edwards and Thomas Leon Owens. His mother, who would later become famous as the English governess to the royal Siamese children from portrayals in the 1944 fictionalized biographical novel ''
Anna and the King of Siam'' and its various adaptations including the 1951 musical ''
The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...
'', was actually born and grew up in India, probably of
Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The '' Oxford English ...
ancestry. His father was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
-born, India-raised clerk; they married in 1849. The couple left India for
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, then part of the
Straits Settlements, in 1852.
Louis was born at
Lynton, Western Australia
Lynton is a townsite in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is part of a larger rural district known as Yallabatharra. Lynton is situated at the mouth of the Hutt River, 7.6 kilometres (4.7 miles) by road from Gregory – between the ...
, where his father was working for the
Commissariat. In 1857, the family moved to
Penang, where his father was a hotel manager.
His father died in 1859, and his mother moved to Singapore with Louis and his elder sister, telling the British expatriate community there that she was a genteel Welsh woman, the widow of a British army officer who had unfortunately lost her fortune.
[Loos, Tamara]
"Review of ''Bombay Anna...''" by Susan Morgan
''Journal of Historical Biography'', vol 5 (Spring 2009), pp. 146–52
His mother's story was believed, and she was invited, in 1862, to teach the children of King
Mongkut of Siam (now Thailand). After sending Louis's sister to England to get a British education, his mother took him to Bangkok. He was raised in Siam for nearly six years and was schooled by his mother alongside the royal children, until 1867, during which he become friends with Mongkut's son and heir Prince
Chulalongkorn. Louis was sent to Europe to complete his education. By 1874, he was in the United States with his mother, but he had accumulated debts. He fled the U.S. and was estranged from his mother for 19 years.
[
]
Career
In 1881, at the age of 25, he returned to Siam and was granted a commission of Captain in the Royal Cavalry by Chulalongkorn.
Leonowens in 1884 left the military and entered the teak
Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...
trade. He went on in 1905 to found the Louis Thomas Leonowens Company in Siam, which became Louis T. Leonowens Ltd, an international trading company. This company remained a leading exporter of Malayan hardwoods
Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
and an importer of building materials and general merchandise at least into the 1960s, and continues to do business as a marketing and distribution company.
He became less involved in the operations of the company after 1906 and left Siam for the last time in 1913.
Personal life
Leonowens was married to:
*Caroline Knox (1856–1893), the youngest daughter of Sir Thomas George Knox, British consul-general in Siam from 1868 to 1879, and his wife, Prang Yen, a Siamese noblewoman. They had one son, Thomas ("George") Knox Leonowens (1888–1953) and a daughter, Anna Harriett Leonowens (born 1890, Mrs Richard Monahan).
*Reta May (1880–1936) married Leonowens in 1900. They had no children.[W. S. Bristowe, ''Louis and the King of Siam'' (Chatto and Windus, 1976), p. 101]
Leonowens died in 1919 during the global influenza pandemic. He is buried, with his second wife, in Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Establ ...
, London.
Film and television portrayals
The young Louis Leonowens has been portrayed by numerous actors and as being from at least three different countries, including the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
:
* Richard Lyon in '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1946);
* Sandy Kennedy in the 1951 musical ''The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...
'', Jeff B. Davis in its 1985 revival, Jake Lucas in its 2015 revival and Graham Montgomery is its 2017 Broadway National Tour;
* Rex Thompson ( レックス・トンプソン) in the 1956 musical film version of ''The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...
'';
* Eric Shea
Eric Shea (born February 14, 1960) is an American actor. A professional child actor, active from age six through seventeen, he is best known for his roles in the blockbuster feature films '' Yours, Mine and Ours'' (1968) and '' The Poseidon Adve ...
in '' Anna and the King'' (1971);
* Tom Felton
Thomas Andrew Felton (born 22 September 1987) is an English actor best known for playing Draco Malfoy in the film adaptations of the ''Harry Potter'' fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling.
Born in Surrey, Felton began appearing in commercials and ...
in the film '' Anna and the King'', starring Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...
(1999); and
* Adam Wylie
Adam Augustus Wylie (born May 23, 1984) is an American actor, magician and a former Crayola spokesman. Wylie is known most for playing Zack Brock, the youngest son of Doctor and Sheriff Brock's children, on ''Picket Fences'' from 1992 to 1996.
Ea ...
(voice) in the animated film ''The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...
'' (1999).
Notes
External links
Louis T. Leonowens, Ltd.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonowens, Louis T.
1856 births
1919 deaths
Burials at Brompton Cemetery
Anglo-Indian people
Deaths from Spanish flu
People from Lynton, Western Australia
British expatriates in Thailand
Expatriates in the Rattanakosin Kingdom