Mahidol University is the oldest institution of higher education in Thailand, founded in 1890 as the Royal College of Medicine in Sirira. It is renowned in the fields of medicine, public health and natural sciences, and was named after the father of modern medicine and public health care in Thailand, Prince Mahidol. It was named after Prince Mahidol Songkla, the father of modern medicine and public health in Thailand, in 1969.