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Living Creatures in Dead Tissue
The Jesuit priest Athanasius Kircher (1601–1680) showed, that maggots and other living creatures developed in decaying tissues. This discovery raised questions about the differences between non-living and living organisms. This discovery would also contribute to the later discussion of what causes cells to stop growing. -
The Publication of "Micorgraphia"
The first description of the cell is usually credited towards Robert Hooke (1635– 1702), an English physicist who was also a well respected and highly regarded microscopist. In 1665 Hooke published Micrographic which was the first important work devoted to microscopical observation. The publication of "Micrographic" highlighted the potential that microscopes have for naturalists in terms of the study of cells. -
If it's Moving it Must be Alive
Dutchman, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) studied the particles that he saw under his microscope and concluded that they were motile. Assuming that motility equates to life, he went on to conclude, in a letter of 9 October 1676 to the Royal Society, that these particles were indeed living organisms. In a long series of papers van Leeuwenhoek then described many specific forms of these microorganisms (which he called ‘‘animalcules’’), including protozoa and other unicellular organisms. -
A Sneak Peak at a Cells' Nucleolus
Felice Fontana (1730–1805) "glimpsed" the nucleus in epithelial cells in 1781 despite it already having been observed in animal and plant cells earlier in the first decades of the eighteenth century. Scottish botanist Robert Brown (1773-1858) is credited with discovering the nucleolus in the cell in 1831 and also introducing the term. -
Plants and Their Products
In 1838, the botanist Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1804–1881) suggested that every structural element of plants is composed of cells or their products. This theory was later elaborated on within the next year and plays a part in one of the main elements of cell theory that all cells come from pre-existing cells. -
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Cell Theory is Defined
Cell Theory is officially formulated/defined despite the idea of cells being the basic component of all living things floating around for many years before. The theory of spontaneous Generation (continuity between living and non-living matter) was disproved Italian naturalist Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729–1799) along with other researchers. Their experiments showed that an organism derives from another organism and that a gap exists between inanimate matter and life. -
Zoologists and Botanists See Eye to Eye
A year after botanist Matthias Jakob formed his theory on the structural element of plants and cells, zoologist Theodor Schwann (1810–1882) formed a similar statement. Schwann stated that “the elementary parts of all tissues are formed of cells” and that “there is one universal principle of development for the elementary parts of organisms... and this principle is in the formation of cells”. -
Cell Theory was the Gateway to Neuron Theory
A book by Karl Deiters (1834–1863) published in 1865, contains
intricate descriptions and drawings of nerve cells studied by using much older historic methods and microdissections which are made with thin needles under the microscope. All the studying of cells in earlier years essentially acted as a gateway for the transition of focus from cells to neurons. -
Chromatin and Mitosis
It was discovered that within the nucleus, the nucleolus and along with another stainable substance could be seen and that a number of structures (ribbons, bands, and threads) appeared during cell division. Since these structures could be heavily stained, they were called ‘‘chromatin’’ by Walther Flemming (1843–1905), who also introduced the term ‘‘mitosis’’ in 1882. -
Chromosomes and Salamanders
The term "chromosome(s)" was introduced in 1888 by Wilhelm Waldeyer (1836–1921). Walther Flemming observed the chromosomes of a salamander as they split apart and seperated. We now know that Flemming was studying "mitosis".