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Robert Hooke
Hooke discovered and gave the name to cells. He was the first to view non-living cells. Hooke made a microscope that magnified 50x and used it to view a thin slice of a cork. He observed that this cork had "empty spaces contained by walls" which he called "pores" or "cells". There was no proof of the existance of cells prior to Hooke's discovery. Therefore, there was nothing to disprove.
*discovered in 1653 but published book with findings in 1665 -
Anton Van Leeuwenhoek
Leeuwenhoek was the first to see and describe living single-celled organisms such as bacteria and protozoa. He was also the first to view sperm and red blood cells. He accomplished this by using the idea behind a magnifying glass to construct a microscope that could magnify somewhere around 270x or 275x and used it to view the above mentioned organisms and many more. Unlike Hooke, Leeuwenhoek saw living cells. -
Rene Henri Dutrochet
Dutrochet dicovered that all cells have a similar structure/ are similarly organized. He realized this through many comparisons of different specimens under the microscope. This did not disprove any previos theories, but expanded on them by identifying the similarities in structure. Dutrochet also was the first to say that the cell is the fundamental element of organization of life. -
Felix Dujardin
Dujardin dicovered that cells are filled with a jelly-like substane called cytoplasm while studying the information discovered by Leeuwenhoek. He is also credited with the discovery of the protoplasm: the cytoplasm and the nucleus. He disproved the existing theory by discovering that cells are not hollow or "empty" as Hooke thought. He also discovered that many organisms are made of a single cell. -
Matthias Jakob Schleiden
Schleiden was a botonist who discovered that all plants are made of cells, which he discovered as he studied many species of plants and noticed this pattern. This discovery expanded upon the cell theory by recognizing the pattern that all plants were made of cells. -
Theodore Schwann
Schwann concluded that all animal tissues are made of cells. Schwann made this discovery through his studies of anatomy and physiology. The combination of this discovery and Schleiden's discovery about plants proved that all living things are made of cells, futher expanding on the cell theory. -
Rudolf Virchow
Virchow discovered that all living cells come from other cells (bionary fission) and that sickness comes from groups of cells functioning abnormally or "getting sick." He discovered this through his education while getting a medical degree and later being a professor for similar classes, furthering his knowledge. This information disproved the idea that all cells are "sick" when the organism they are a part of is ill. It also provided new information about bionary fission. -
Virchow-second picture
