Cell Theory Timeline

  • Microscope invented

    Microscope invented
    The first microscope was invented in the beginning of the 17th century. This is what was the beginning of exploring the microscopic world.
  • Period: to

    Robert Hooke lifespan

    The first description of the cell is attributed to Robert Hooke
  • Cells were named cells

    Cells were named cells
    Hooke saw that they look like a small room. A small room is latin is cella.
  • Microorganisms are living organisms

    Microorganisms are living organisms
    Antoni van Leeuwenhoek saw that the particles under the micro scope were living he then wrote a letter on 9 October, 1676 to the Royal Society that said that the particles were living organisms.
  • Nucleus was recognized for its importance.

    Nucleus was recognized for its importance.
    Robert Brown was the first to recognize the nucleus as an essential constituent of living cells in 1831
  • All plants are made of cells

    All plants are made of cells
    In 1838, Matthias Jakob Schleiden suggested that every structural element of plants is composed of cells or their products
  • Period: to

    The cell theory was officially formulated

    There had been ideas that cells were the basic component of living organisms but the cell theory was officially made in 1838-1839
  • All animals are made of cells

    All animals are made of cells
    In 1839 Theodor Schwann stated that "the elementary parts of all tissues are formed of cells" and that "there is one universal principle of development for the elementary parts of organisms... and this principle is in the formation of cells"
  • Cells are made from pre-existing cells

    Cells are made from pre-existing cells
    In the 1850s Robert Remak, Rudolf Virchow, and Albert Kolliker showed that cells are formed through scission of pre-existing cells
  • Neuron theory

    Neuron theory
    In 1891 Wilhelm Waldeyer introduced the term neurons to indicate independent nerve cells. Thereafter, cell theory as applied to the nervous system became known as the neuron theory.