Prof Nidhi Eoseewong: Historian who blazed new trails through Thailand’s past and present

Prof Nidhi Eoseewong: The pioneer who cut new paths through Thai history

Professor Nidhi Eoseewong, a renowned historian who became an opinion leader and political commentator, died of lung cancer on August 7 at the age of 83.

A long-time history lecturer at Chiang Mai University until his retirement in 2000, Nidhi was once described as “one of the greatest historians that Thailand has ever produced … [and] also a leading figure in the Thai intellectual circle”.

So said the award citation when Nidhi received the Fukuoka Academic Prize from the Japanese city of Fukuoka in 1999 at the age of 59.

“It is no exaggeration to say that a significant portion of Thailand’s history from the Ayudhya Dynasty onward has been wholly rewritten by him. In addition to his academic activities as a historian, he continues to write witty and sensational columns on the culture, politics, and…