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The First Microscope
It was created by Zaccharias Janssen and Han Janssen (who was his son). They made the first Compound Microscope. -
Robert Hooke
While viewing a slice of a cork through a microscope he saw small objects which he named "cells". -
Anthony Van Leeuwenhoek
He improved the first microscope (which Hooke used) and he observed living cells for the first time. -
The Cell Theory
With ideas and discoveries from Schwan, Schleiden, and Virchow the Cell Theory has been developed. It is composed of 4 main "laws" ; All living things are composed of cells, All cells come from pre-existing cells, The well-being of an organism depends on the well-being of the cell, and the cell is the basic unit of structure of all living things. -
Matthias Schleiden
While the botanist was observing a speciman, he came to the conclusion that ,"All plants are made of cells" which was the beginning of the Cell Theory. -
Theodor Schwan
He came to the conclusion that, "All animals are made of cells" which helped to create a law in the Cell Theory -
Rudolf Virchow
Another addition to the Cell Theory was given by him which stated that ," All cells come from preexisting cells". -
JJ Thompson (Optional)
He discovered the electron. This British physicist was examining the inside of an atom at Cambridge University and realized that there were negativly charged objects. We know these as electrons -
The Electron Microscope
In about the 1930s the Transmission (TEM) and Scanning (SEM) Electron Microscopes were created. Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska created the TEM in Germany in 1931, but the SEM was designed a few years later in 1942. Both use a beam of electrons with energy to examine very tiny objects. -
Fris Zernike (Optional)
He created the Phase Contrast Microscope which allowed colourless and transparent materials be observed. He also won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1953
