So Sethaputra

So Sethaputra (, , ; 10 February 1904 – 8 September 1970) was a Thai writer, journalist, and politician, best known as the compiler of the New Model English–Thai Dictionary, one of the most popular English–Thai dictionaries of the 20th century.

So graduated from England on a royal government scholarship, and worked in the government of King Prajadhipok in last years of absolute monarchy, writing for newspapers on the side. He was implicated in the Boworadet Rebellion in 1933 against the new constitutional government, and became a political prisoner at Bang Kwang, Tarutao and Ko Tao until 1944, during which he compiled his seminal work, manuscripts of which were smuggled out of prison and published serially from 1937 to 1940. Following his release, he briefly entered politics as a representative for Thonburi Province from 1946 to 1947 and as a government minister for three months between 1947 and 1948, after which he returned to writing and publishing. His dictionary continues to be used, and has received renewed interest for the political undertones present in his definitions and usage examples.

Biography Early life and career So was born in Thonburi to the Sreshthaputra family, descendants of wealthy Chinese tax farmers. His father Sawat, however, was more interested in machinery and forfeited the family fortune to marry So's mother Keson and work at the Smith Premier Thai typewriter business of George B. McFarland, who was also publisher of the first English–Thai dictionary.

So excelled academically, and after graduating from Suankularb Wittayalai School, he received the King's Scholarship to study geology and mining in England. He graduated BSc from the University of Manchester in 1925, and returned to work in the Royal Department of Mines and Geology.

So had developed an interest in journalism during his studies, and began submitting articles for the English-language newspapers The Bangkok Times and the Bangkok Daily Mail while in England. After returning to Siam (as Thailand was then known), he continued writing for Daily Mail under the pseudonym Nai Nakorn. His writings caught the attention and approval of King Prajadhipok (Rama VII), who requested that he transfer to the Royal Secretariat Department. So soon became head of the privy council secretariat. For a while, So additionally wrote articles for the Bangkok Times, which were hidden between the shells of the water flask his mother brought during visits.

So's dictionary was picked up by Phraya Niphonphotchanat, the owner of The Bangkok Central Books Depot, whom So had worked with in the Royal Secretariat Department, and who officially explained that So had written it before being imprisoned. It was published weekly in three signatures (24 pages) and sold as a subscription, beginning in 1937. From 1937 to 1938, when Chalo Sisarakon was in charge of Bangkwang, the political prisoners were allowed considerable liberty and could even go outside. It was during this time that he met Somphong Phorom and fathered their first son; they had six children together. His third marriage was to Pimpawan Rochanavibhata , whom he met when she joined the editorial board of Liberty. They married in 1951, and had three children.

The original serialized publication by Bangkok Central Books Depot was titled The New Model English–Siamese Dictionary, after the country's name at the time. The full version, with approximately 4,000 pages bound in two volumes, was termed the Library Edition. After its 1937–1940 release, So worked to create an abridged Desk Edition aimed at students, which was published by Prachachang—a printer of school textbooks—after the war. Both editions went out of print for several years before So and his third wife Pimpawan took it upon themselves to self-publish reissues. Various other formats and pocket-sized editions later followed under Thai Wattana Panich, who was the dictionary's publisher from 1969. His contempt for the military government shows through in many examples,