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First sighting of a cell
Robert Hooke, using a rudimentary microscope observes a piece of cork, discovering small structures he called "cells" -
Observation of living microorganisms
Antoon van Leeuwenhoek "Father of microbiology", perfected the microscope of the time and observed, for the first time, living microorganisms which he called "animalcules" -
Beggining of cell theory
Matthias Schleiden proposed that all plants are made up of cells -
Creation of the cell theory
Theodor Schwann build upon Matthias Schleiden's initial idea onto the animal kingdom, concluding that all living organisms are made up of cells. They created the cell theory, which states the cell is the basic unit of life -
Omnis cellula e cellula
Rudolf Virchow added upon the cell theory by proposing that all cells come from other cells -
Spontaneous generation theory refutal
Louis Pasteur conducted experiments that refute the theory of spontaneous generation, showing that life comes from pre-existing organisms -
Prokaryotic and eukaryotic classification
Édouard Chatton introduced the terms "prokaryotic" and "eukaryotic", differentiating two types of cells due to the presence or absence of a nucleus -
Discovery of DNA helical structure
Rosalind Franklin, using an X-ray diffraction technique revealed the helical structure of DNA -
Endosymbiotic theory
Lynn Margulis proposed the endosymbiotic theory, which explains that eukaryotic cells evolved from symbiotic relationships with prokaryotic cells