Cell Theory Timeline

  • 384 BCE

    Aristotle

    Aristotle established methods for investigation and reasoning and provided a theory on how embryos generate and develop. He originated the theory of epigenesis.
  • Zacharias Jansen

    Zacharias invented the first optical telescope and the first truly compound microscope
  • Jan B. van Helmont

    generated the idea of living things could come from non-living things. He did this by preforming an experiment where he noticed maggots only appearing on the meat that was not covered.
  • Robert Hooke

    By using the microscope Robert was the first to visualize a microorganism.
  • Anton van Leeuwenhoek

    he made an observation of "little animals" through a microscope. Cells were then being discovered through the microscope which led to improvement of lens-grinding techniques.
  • Lorenz Oken

    he stated that "all living organisms originate from and consist of cells" which may be the first statement of cell theory
  • Alexander Braun

    Added to cell theory the concept of the cell as the basic unit of life. He also did much to elucidate the sex cycles of primitive plants.
  • Robert Brown

    Robert would publish his research and give speeches about his theory's and try to get people to understand them. He discovered the nucleus and its role which ended up backing the second half of cell theory up.
  • Theodor Schwann

    developed the "cell theory" and then published his monograph microscopic researches into accordance in the structure and growth of plants and animals.
  • Matthias Schleiden

    Discovered all plants were made of cells and later that year that animals were as well
  • Albrecht von Roelliker

    He discovered that sperm and eggs were composed of the exact same cells humans were formed by.
  • Rudolf Virchow

    Rudolf published a statement based on his observations that cells arise from pre-existing cells, he called this omnis cellula e cellula.
  • Louis Pasteur

    Louis created a breakthrough of pasteurization which prevented diseases passed through dairy products
  • Walther Flemming

    He was the first person to conduct a systematic study of chromosomes during division and called this process mitosis
  • Matthias Schleiden

    discovered that all plants were made of cells and later that year discovered all animals were made of cells
  • Francis Crick

    Discovered the double helix, DNA.