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Matthias Jakob Schleiden
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Matthias Jakob Schleiden Article

Who was Matthias Jacob Schleiden?

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Matthias Jacob Schleiden was a German botanist who, with Theodor Schwann, cofounded the cell theory. In 1838 Schleiden defined the cell as the basic unit of plant structure, and a year later Schwann defined the cell as the basic unit of animal structure. Schleiden and Schwann articulated their observations as a unified theory—the cell theory—in 1839.

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