Development of Cell Theory

Philosophy and Biology

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Aristotle recognized the value of studying organisms, starting an approach to philosophy and biology.

Compound Microscopes

Jul 13, 1595

Zacharias Janssen created the first compound microscope, which could magnify images approximately 3x when fully closed and up to 10x when extended to the maximum.

Plant Studying

Jul 13, 1634

Jan Baptist van Helmont studied plants and made the theory that plants grew by eating soil and he concluded that plants grew by drinking water.

The Word Cell Introduced to Science

Jul 13, 1655

Robert Hooke described cellular composition of cork and introduced the word cell to science.

Magnification

Jul 13, 1674

Anton van Leeuwenhoek improved the magnification of microscopes by polishing the lenses.

Saliva Bacteria

Jul 13, 1683

Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria from a sample of saliva he took from his mouth.

Vesicles or Cells

Jul 13, 1805

Lorenz Oken proposed that all organic beings originate from and consist of vesicles or cells.

Cell Nucleus

Jul 13, 1833

Robert Brown learned about and described the cell nucleus.

Plants

Jul 13, 1838

Matthias Schleiden discovered and announced that plants are made of cells.

Animals

Jul 13, 1839

Theodor Schwann discovered and announced that animals are made of cells.

Sperm and Egg Cells

Jul 13, 1840

Albrecht von Roelliker realized that sperm cells and egg cells are also cells.

Challenging Spontaneous Generation

Jul 13, 1854

Louis Pasteur experimented and resulted in a process called pasteurisation.

Cell Theory

Jul 13, 1855

Rudolf Virchow stated that all living things come from other living things, also known as Cell Theory.