Anna Leonowens
Anna Harriette Leonowens (26 November 1831 – 19 January 1915) born Anna Harriett Emma Edwards, was an Anglo-Indian or Indian-born British travel writer, educator, and social activist.
Her experiences in Siam (Thailand) were fictionalised in Margaret Landon's 1944 best-selling novel Anna and the King of Siam, as well as films and television series based on the book, most notably Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1951 hit musical The King and I.
During the course of her life, Leonowens also lived in Aden, Australia, Singapore, the United States and Canada. Among other achievements, she co-founded the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
Read more about Anna Leonowens: Early Life and Family, Marriage, Western Australia, and Widowhood, Royal Governess, Literary Career, Later Years, Anna Leonowens in Fiction and Film