Ernest Young

Ernest Young (1869–1952) was a British schoolmaster, geographer, and writer. He spent several years in Siam, where he worked in the Education Department, and that experience shaped the book he is best known for today, The Kingdom of the Yellow Robe (1898).

Written after his time in Bangkok, that book explores domestic life, Buddhist practice, ceremonies, and rural customs in Siam. Young presents these scenes for general readers, mixing description, travel observation, and social commentary in a way that reflects both his curiosity and his era.

Later in life, he also served as the first headmaster of Harrow County School from 1911 to 1919. Even though his surviving public profile is fairly limited, his writing remains of interest as an early English-language portrait of Siam from someone who lived and worked there.