Science Atlas

How We Know What We Know
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Scientist

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

lay-vuhn-hook
Also Known As Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Life Sciences

Dutch tradesman and self-taught microscopist who ground his own tiny, powerful single lenses from the 1670s onward, reaching magnifications well beyond the compound microscopes of his day. Using them he became the first person to observe and describe bacteria, protozoa, spermatozoa and red blood cells, founding the science of microbiology through roughly 560 letters he sent describing what he saw.

Facts
Birth Year
1632 1
Field
Microbiology and microscopy 1
Connections

Founded

Source Wikipedia: Microbiology

Invented

Microscope, Instruments

Built his own single-lens microscopes from the 1670s onward, reaching far higher magnification than the compound microscopes of his day, and became the first person to observe bacteria and protozoa; this achievement is separate from, and better documented than, the disputed 1590s compound-microscope claims.

Source Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (Wikipedia)

Works In

Source Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lead section
    Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( AHN-tə-nee vahn LAY-vən-hook, -⁠huuk; Dutch: [ˈɑntoːni vɑn ˈleːu.ə(n)ˌɦuk] ; 24 October 1632-26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch art, science and technology.
  • Invented: Microscope
  • Works In: Microbiology
View the Source
Wikipedia: Microbiology
WikipediaFounded: MicrobiologyView the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.