Alexander Brown Griswold ’28

ALEX GRISWOLD died Oct, 4, 1991, at his home, Breezewood, in Monkton, Md. He was a graduate of Gilman School. At Princeton he majored in art and architecture. He went on to graduate work at Trinity College ' Cambridge. in 1930 he joined the family investment banking firm, Alexander Brown & Sons, and became a senior partner, He retired in 1964. Like many who grew up in the Baltimore area, he was an enthusiastic horseman and often rode in the hunting field with the ElkridgeHarford Hounds.

Alex joined the U.S. Air Force at the outset of WWII and was with the Office of Strategic Services, which preceded the Central Intelligence Agency, in Southeast Asia, At one point he was secretly dropped behind the Japanese lines in Thailand, He was awarded the Bronze Star for distinguished service, which included setting up and operating a secret landing field. He attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. His interest in Thailand and its art began at this time, and he became a noted scholar and collector of Thai art. In 1957 he made headlines by publishing a defense of 19thcentury King Mongkut, claiming that Anna Leonowens had fabricated parts of her account of her experience at his court that provided the basis for the musical "The King and L" He wrote several books and many articles about Thai art, and gave a very valuable collection to the Walters Art Gallery in 1987. He had a house in Bangkok, and spent considerable time there.

Alex never married. He came from a family of Princetonians, including his brother Benjamin 111 '33 and nephews Benjamin IV '62 and Jack '64. Alex's classmates are proud of his achievements.

The Class of 1928