Cell Theory

Aristotle

350 BCE

https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/aristotle-384-322-bce#:~:text=In%20natural%20philosophy%2C%20later%20called,undifferentiated%20material%2C%20later%20called%20epigenesis.
He created the idea of spontaneous generation

Zacharias Jansen

1590

https://www.sutori.com/story/our-cell-theory-timeline--ysqPf9CgJguMXPyQDfDXsv2g
Took part in making the compound optical microscope - He helped with the rejection of spontaneous generation. Jansen took part in making a microscope that made it more easy to observe cells, and cells are said to have made up every part of a living organism, which is what the cell theory states.

Jan Baptist van Helmont

1643

https://prezi.com/2jgbwwgjdehc/cell-theory-and-discovery-of-the-microscope/#:~:text=The%20theory%20of%20spontaneous%20generation%20was%20living%20things%20could%20come,from%20Jean%20Baptiste%20van%20Helmont.&text=t%20cover%20another.-,He%20noticed%20that%20maggots%20only%20appeared%20on%20the%20meat%20that,the%20theory%20of%20spontaneous%20generation.
Did an experiment that attracted baby mice - tried to prove spontaneous regeneration by putting cheese curds and wheat kernels in a shirt

Robert Hooke

1665

https://www.aaas.org/discovery-bacteria
Described the fruiting structures of mold - Helped with the rejection of spontaneous generation. Mold brings bacteria and bugs which is against spontaneous regeneration.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

1676

https://www.aaas.org/discovery-bacteria
Discovered bacteria - Helped with the rejection of spontaneous generation. He discovered bacteria which is one of the things that brings gross things like bugs and rats to places, instead of them just appearing.

Lorenz Oken

1805

http://fig.cox.miami.edu/~cmallery/150/unity/cell.text.htm#:~:text=German%20natur%2Dphilosopher%20and%20microscopist,in%20medicine%20at%20Freiburg%20University.&text=It%20is%20reported%20that%20in,statement%20of%20a%20cell%20theory.
Stated that all living things come from and consist of cells - by stating that, he also helped disprove spontaneous generation.

Robert Brown

1831

https://study.com/academy/lesson/robert-brown-cell-theory-inventions-discoveries.html#:~:text=Brown%20published%20his%20research%20findings,half%20of%20the%20cell%20theory.
Discovered the nucleus - he helped discover that all living things come from cells, and they come from pre-existing cells, which disproves spontaneous generation.

Louis Pasteur

1837

https://www.preceden.com/timelines/183224-the-cell-theory#:~:text=Louis%20Pasteur%20contributed%20to%20the,broth%20if%20air%20was%20exposed.
Proved that cells can only form from pre-existing cells - by proving that cells only formed from pre-existing cells he also helped reject spontaneous regeneration.

Matthias Schleiden

1838

https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book%3A_General_Biology_(Boundless)/4%3A_Cell_Structure/4.1%3A_Studying_Cells/4.1C%3A_Cell_Theory#:~:text=By%20the%20late%201830s%2C%20botanist,proposed%20the%20unified%20cell%20theory.&text=Schleiden%20and%20Schwann%20proposed%20spontaneous,called%20abiogenesis)%20was%20later%20disproven.
Verified the existence of plant cells - Helped try to prove spontaneous regeneration, along with Theodor Schwann

Theodor Schwann

1838

https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book%3A_General_Biology_(Boundless)/4%3A_Cell_Structure/4.1%3A_Studying_Cells/4.1C%3A_Cell_Theory#:~:text=By%20the%20late%201830s%2C%20botanist,proposed%20the%20unified%20cell%20theory.&text=Schleiden%20and%20Schwann%20proposed%20spontaneous,called%20abiogenesis)%20was%20later%20disproven.
Proposed the unified cell theory - Helped try to prove spontaneous regeneration. He proposed it as the method for cell origination.

summary

1838

1. cells are the base of all living things
2. cells are structural and functional units of livings things
3. cells form from eachother

Albrecht von Roelliker

1840

https://bitesizebio.com/166/history-of-cell-biology/
Discovered that sperm and eggs are also cells - this helped disprove spontaneous generation because it proved that you need sperm and eggs to create life and not a formula

Rudolf Virchow

1855

https://study.com/academy/lesson/rudolf-virchow-discovery-cell-theory-contributions.html#:~:text=In%201855%20Virchow%20published%20a,arise%20from%20pre%2Dexisting%20cells.&text=Virchow%20used%20the%20theory%20that,disease%20at%20the%20cellular%20level.
Made a statement that all cells arise from pre-existing cells - He helped reject spontaneous regeneration. He stated that animals can only come from pre-existing animals.