Philipp Franz von Siebold

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Philipp Franz von Siebold

1796-1866

German physician, botanist, and explorer who introduced Western medicine to Japan and brought Japanese plants to European gardens. Siebold worked for the Dutch for many years, first as a physician in Batavia (now Jakarta) and later in Japan. He was expelled from Japan for learning too much about the country, although not before gathering enough scientific information to write important papers about Japanese plants and animals with Dutch and German colleagues.

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