Andreas Cleyer

Andreas Cleyer (27 June 1634 – between 20 December 1697 and 26 March 1698) was a German physician, pharmacist, botanist, trader and Japanologist.

He began as a modest soldier, and he made his fortune and reputation during the course of a career.

He rose in the ranks of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC), becoming a respected and well-known figure in the VOC's Batavian society.

Cleyer added to western botanical, zoological and medical knowledge in the course of his time in Southeast Asia.

His collecting and categorizing activities were noteworthy in their number and extent.

Frontispiece of the book: "Specimen Medicinae Sinicae", 1682
Acupuncture meridians in Cleyer's "Specimen Medicinae Sinicae"
Cleyer's observations on Camellia ( tsubaki ) and Distylium racemosum ( isunoki ) published in the Miscellanea Curiosa , Decuria II, Annus VII