The Bangkok Recorder
The Bangkok Recorder ( หนังสือ จดหมายเหตุ ) was the first newspaper in Thai language .
The recorder was initially released monthly in Bangkok , later every two weeks . The publication times were 1844-1845 and 1865-1867. The main contributor was the American missionary Dan Beach Bradley , who spent 35 years in Siam. Bradley published both English and Thai editions of the recorder. The Thai edition measured 15 cm by 22 cm, the English version 30 cm by 45 cm, each with a two-column layout.
Subscribers included King Mongkut (Rama IV) and high nobles of the country. The newspaper died because of financial difficulties. Bradley wrote in various issues that subscribers should please pay their outstanding debts. However, they may not have paid their contributions due to dissatisfaction with the editorial content of the paper. In addition to general and scientific topics, he also wrote articles on Christianity and Buddhism , which were probably viewed as critical of the prevailing religion in the country.