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Robert Hooke
The cell was first discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665. The microscope opened up microscopic worlds, showing what living forms were composed of. He stated that it looked strangely similar to small rooms. However what Hooke actually saw was the dead cell walls of plant cells (cork) as it appeared under the microscope and named the small spaces cells. Hooke theory affected society by leading to the deeper discovery and research of cells and its functions. -
Francesco Redi
Redi presented the idea of cell theory which helped debunk the theory of spontaneous generation, where it is believed that living organisms can come from non-living organisms. -
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Leeuwenhoek provided the first accurate representation of a red blood cell, observation of a sperm cell, and the discovery of the cell vacuole & banded patterns on muscle fibers of plants. He tremendously contributed in the study of Biology due to his development and improvement of the microscope. -
Jean Baptiste de Lamarck
Lamarck claimed that cellular tissue is the general environment where all organisms are developed. Through this discovery, a deeper and better understanding of how living organisms function and survive has been utilized in everyday life. -
Robert Brown
Brown reported the observation he made regarding the discovery and increasing occurrence of nuclei in cells. This breakthrough paved the way for the study of genetic material, or DNA, not only among humans, but other living organisms as well. -
Matthias Schlieden
Matthias showed that the development of all vegetable tissues comes from the activity of cells. Schleiden emphasized that structures and the arrangement of features, not processes, give organic life its character. Schleiden also proved that a nucleated cell is the first element of the plant embryo. -
Theodor Schwann
Theodore is best known for developing the concept that all living things are composed of cells. He established that the cell is the basic unit of life. This concept contributed immensely to the foundation of modern histology. -
Rudolph Virchow
Rudolph contributed the third part of the original cell theory which concluded that cells only emerge from other cells. He was the first to demonstrate that the cell theory applies to diseases tissue and healthy tissue. His discoveries contributed to the modern cell theory that we use today. -
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Mendel, or "Father of Genetics," discovered the fundamental laws of inheritance through his work on pea plants. He concluded that genes come in pairs and are inherited as distinct units. Mendel's laws of heredity are the law of segregation, the law of independent assortment and the law of dominance. Gregor findings became the foundations of genetics and lead to the study of hereditary. -
Anton Schneider
Schneider provided the first description of cell division and the visible changes in its following stages. His discoveries contributed to a better understanding in cell activity, especially in reproduction of living organisms.
