SIEBOLD, Philipp Franz von

(1796–1866)

   Orientalist. Von Siebold studied medicine at the University of Wurzburg, Germany. In 1822, he immigrated to the Netherlands, where he entered gov ernmentservice. He was appointed physician with the rank of major and was sent to Batavia (Indonesia). Von Siebold was then assigned a post in the Dutch “factory” at Deshima, Japan. In the wake of fa mous predecessors such as Engelbert Kaempfer and Isaac Tits ingh, Von Siebold did comprehensive research on the flora, fauna, and human society of Japan, about which he published extensively (Nippon, 1832–1851; Fauna Japanica, 1833–1851; Flora Japanica, 1835–1870). He also built up a large collection of indigenous mate rials, which are now part of the Ethnographic Museum in Leiden.