-
Period: to
Early Microscope
1590
Zacharias Janssen and his neighbour Hans placed multiple lenses in a tube. They observed that viewed objects in fornt of the tube appeared to be enlarged -
Period: to
First use of term "cells"
English physicist Robert Hooke publishes Micrographia, in which he coins the term ‘cells’ when describing tissue. The book includes drawings of hairs on a nettle and the honeycomb structure of cork. He uses a simple, single-lens microscope illuminated by a candle. -
Period: to
Living cells first seen
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek builds a simple microscope with one lens to examine blood, yeast and insects. He was the first to describe cells and bacteria. He invents new methods for making lenses that allowed magnifications of up to 270 times. -
Period: to
Matthias Schleiden formulates
Schleiden was the first to formulate what was then an informal belief as a principle of biology equal in importance to the atomic theory of chemistry. He also recognized the importance of the cell nucleus, discovered in 1831 by the Scottish botanist Robert Brown, and sensed its connection with cell division. -
Period: to
Schwann proved the cellular origin
In the course of his verification of cell theory, Theordor Schwann proved the cellular origin and development of the most highly differentiated tissues including nails, feathers, and tooth enamel. Schwann established a basic principle of embryology by observing that the ovum is a single cell that eventually develops into a complete organism.