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Robert Hooke 1635-1703
Robert Hooke discovered cellular composition in a cork, and he also introduced the cell to science. Using his hand made leather and gold-tooled microscope, he created his observations by studying cells. The term cell was used to describe biological organisms. -
Francesco Redi 1626-1697
Disproved spontatneous, and proved all cells are created from pre-existing cells. He did this by expirementing with maggots, jars, and with dead things within these jars. He concluded that only in the open jars, flies would drop in, and maggots would be created, but in all the other jars, there were no signs of life. -
Anton Van Leuwenhoek 1632-1723
He improved magnification of microscopes, discovered animalcules, and discovered bacteria from a sample of his saliva. Animalcules are an old term for protozoans or microscopic animals. -
John Needham 1713-1781
John Needham was a priest, who tried to prove spontatneous generation existed. He did this by taking a chicken broth and boiling it. He then put the chicken broth in a flask and sealed. It. His logic was: boiling theboth should kill all micro organisms in it, therefore if micro organisms grew on the broth while it it was in a closed flask, he thought it would prove that life spontaneously generated inside the flask. Micro organisims did grow in the chicken broth. -
Lazzaro Spallazani 1729-1799
Lazzaro spallazini thought that Needham's experiment was flawed and didn't prove that spontaneous generation existed. He figured that there were micro organisms in the air that Needham left in the flask, and they caused the growth of the micro oragnisms that Needham thought proved spontaneous generation. He re-created Needham's ecxeriment, but he sucked all the air out of the flask before he left it for a period of time. No micro organisms grew in the broth. -
Felix Dujardin 1801-1860
He discovered the Rhizpoda, later changed to a Protozoa, which are unicellular organisms that obtain food from their surroundings. They are found in fresh water, and occasionaly soil. Felix concluded later in his studies that Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg's idea, that microscopic organisms are complete organisms, and similar to higher animals. -
Matthias Schleiden 1804-1881
Discovered that all plants are made up of cells. He recognized the importance of the cell nucleus, and eventually realized its connection with cell division. -
Theodor Schawnn 1810-1882
Discovered all animals are made up of cells. He said that new plant cells formed frm the nuclei of older plant cells. -
Rudolf Virchow
Rudoldiscovered, with help from Schwann, that all living things come from other living things. -
Louis Pasteur 1822-1895
Created the germ theory disease, a theory that states that some diseases are caused by microorganisms. These organisms can only be seen by microscopes. He also disproved spontaneous generation. He did this by
