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340 BCE
Aristotle
Aristotle was an early scientist who theorized how animals and plants developed through preformation and epigenesis. His ideas were of spontaneous generation. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, whereafter Proxenus of Atarneus became his guardian. Before he became a scientist he was Plato's student. -
Zacharias Jansen
Scientist Jansen sometimes referred to a Janssen, is commonly believed to be the first person to invent the compound microscope. His creation was of spontaneous generation. He realized that in a world that is this big there had to be objects smaller in size which were difficult to see with the naked eye. In 1590, along with his father, he succeeded in creating a microscope by using concave and convex lenses to magnify objects look very small in size. -
Jan Baptist van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont was born in 1580. He was a Flemish chemist, physiologist, and physician. He recognized the existence of discrete gases and identified carbon dioxide. He is called the father of pneumatic chemistry and theorized through spontaneous generation, by saying that if you put a rag over a pot of rice you will create mice in 21 days. -
Robert Hooke
Robert Hooke was born on the Isle of Wight, England on July 28, 1635. His parents were John Hooke and Cecily Gyles. He was the youngest of their four children. For a large part of his childhood, his health was concerning. Out of spontaneous generation he looked at a cork under a microscope and discovered cells. -
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Anton van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch tradesman and scientist, he is known for his work on the improvement of the microscope and also for his subsequent contribution towards the study of microbiology. He is known as "the Father of Microbiology", and is offered thought of being the first microbiologist. Although, Anton van Leeuwenhoek did not create something new he adjusted the original microscope. He did so through non-spontaneous generation. -
Lorenz Oken
Oken often used the concept of 'romantic' science and his worldview was shaped by German romanticism and its philosophy. He studied medicine at Freiburg University and later on natural history at the Universities of Würzburg and Göttingen. He did not have original ideas in regard to their being cells so that means he did not have spontaneous generation. He declared that all cells originate from and consist of cells. -
Robert Brown
Robert Brown was a botanist from Scotland who was a pioneer in microscopy. He was among the first botanists to describe the nucleus of cells. He was an excellent botanist who discovered the nucleus in plant cells, out of non-spontaneous generation. In his lifetime he was offered substantial positions at both Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities, Brown declined because he wanted to move away from London, feeling that he owed it to Banks’ legacy. -
Theodor Schwann
Theodor Schwann was a German physiologist. He is credited with the development of cell theory and Schwann cells in nervous system are named after him. He studied at the Jesuits College in Cologne. Schwann, out of non-spontaneous generation, contributed to the cell theory by stating that cells were the basic unit of structure in living things. -
Matthias Schleiden
Schleiden, a German botanist, who eventually became a professor of botany at the University of Jena had introduced the idea that plants consisted of cells; this theory was later applied to animals by Theodor Schwann.He applied the cell theory to plants and it would not be out of spontaneous generation due to the fact that the cell theory was already known to many. -
Albrecht von Roelliker
He was a Swiss embryologist, he was amongst the first to interpret tissue structure in terms of cellular elements. Out of non-spontaneous generation he discovered that sperm and eggs are also cells. Kölliker became professor of physiology and comparative anatomy at the University of Zürich then he transferred to the University of Würzburg, where he was very influential. -
Rudolf Virchow
Rudolf Virchow was a German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician who was known for his advancement of public health. Since cells where already knowledge to many scientist at the time he simply did not create his hypothesis out of spontaneous generation. He endorsed cell division and the role it plays. -
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist who made discoveries regarding the immune system, vaccinations, chemistry and the nature of diseases. Due to prior knowledge, non-spontaneous generation, he learned that microorganisms spoil food. He invented a process to stop food and liquid such as milk from making people sick. This method is called Pasteurization. One of his famous quotes- “I am on the edge of mysteries and the veil is getting thinner and thinner.”
