Built in com­mem­o­ra­tion of Bangkok’s 150th anniver­sary cel­e­bra­tions in 1932, the mon­u­ment is at the foot of the Great Memo­r­i­al Bridge on the Bangkok side. King Rama I was the first king in the Roy­al House of Chakri and founder of Bangkok as the cap­i­tal of the King­dom of Siam, as Thai­land was for­mer­ly known. He was born in Ayut­thaya, one of Thai­land’s for­mer cap­i­tals, on 20 March 1736. He ascend­ed to the throne on 6 April 1782 and passed away 27 years lat­er.