Cell Theory Timeline

Hooke invented the word cell and said that cells are the building blocks of all life. To make his discovery Hooke viewed a thin cutting of cork under a microscope and saw empty spaces contained by walls and named them "pores" or "cells." Hooke's model of the cell was better than the previous beliefs because his theory was the first ever found and a great contribution to the development of science as we know it.

Leeuwenhoek made several microscopic discoveries after observing a pond and the organisms within it. He sent detailed drawings of what he saw to the Royal Society. Leeuwenhoek discovered the first unicellular organisms and made a microscope to view the inside of a cell. These discoveries are better than the previous discovery of the cell by Hooke because Leeuwenhoek opened the path for better microscopes to be made and used to make larger discoveries in the small things in life.

Brown discovered the nucleus in plant cells. Brown made his discovery by studying the epidermis of orchids through his microscope. He saw that each cell had a spot inside and termed this spot the nucleus of the cell. This version is better than the previous because although Leeuwenhoek was able to see the inside of the cell through his microscope he never actually made discoveries about the inside of the cell.

Schleiden discovered that all plant tissue is made up of cells. He used Brown's discovery and his own observations of plant cells to make his theory of the cell. He discovered that an embryonic plant arose from a single cell. He made the first generalized statement about cells which states that cells are the building blocks of all plant matter. Schleidens discovery is ultimately better than Brown's because now we know that cells are in all plants and their tissue.

Schwann discovered that all animal tissue is made up of cells ultimately ending speculation that plants and animals were fundamentally different in structure. He made the second yet most important generalization concerning cells in biology:"the cell is the basic unit of life." He came to these conclusions using past knowledge and observations of animals. This discovery is better than the previous discovery by Schleiden because this theory shows us that more than just plants are made of cells.

Virchow stated that all cells develop from existing cells and was the first to discover that diseased cells come from healthy cells. This was an extraordinary discovery, however, Virchow did not discover this truthfully. He found the work of Robert Remak and decided he liked and believed in Remak's work, so Virchow published the work as his own. His discovery is far better than Schwann's because he realized that cells do not just come from random matter; they come from already existing cells.