Cell Theory

  • Robert Hooke

    Robert Hooke
    Year of Discovery-1665
    Contribution- he first discovered the cell
    How discovery was made- he looked at a piece of cork under a 50x magnified microscope and saw many pores in the cork and labeled them cells
    Why model disproved the previous model- First, there were no other models at the time because he discovered cells. Second, everyone believed that people and other living things were made from spontaneous generation, which basically means that we were made from nothing
  • Anton Van Leeuwenhoek

    Anton Van Leeuwenhoek
    Year of Discovery- 1674
    Contribution- first to see and describe bacteria, to see that bakers yeast contained plant-like organisms, and saw the teeming life in a drop of pond water
    How discovery was made- he observed scummy pond water which led to the first visual descriptions and illustrations of such common organisms as the algae spirogyra
    Why model disproved previous model- Hooke only knew that there were cells and how may there were per cubic inch, Leeuwenhoek described and illustrated bact.
  • Robert Brown

    Robert Brown
    Year of Discovery- 1831
    Contribution- described the nucleus of the cell and he also described the cytoplasmic functions within cells
    How discovery was made- studied approximately 1700 plant species and saw an opaque spot in the cell and called it a nucleus
    how it disproved previous model- he discovered more thoroughy that there were more parts to the cell than just "the cell", different things make up cells
  • Theodor Schwann

    Theodor Schwann
    Year of Discovery- 1837
    Contribution- declared that all animals are composed of cells and cell products, traced development of adult tissues form early embryo stages
    How discovery was made- he studied animal tissue under a microscope
    Why his model disproved previous model- figured out that all animals are made up of cells, he figured out that cells are part of animals not that cells are made up of stuff
  • Mathius Jakob Schleiden

    Mathius Jakob Schleiden
    Year of Discovery-1838
    Contribution-recognized the importance of the cell nucleus discovered by Robert Brown, made accurate observations about plant cells and cell activity, decided that the cell nucleus has something to do with cell division
    How discovery was made-studied plant structure under a microscope
    Why model disproved previous model-He expanded on Robert Browns discovery of the cell nucleus, he worked with Schwann to develop cell theory which says all living things are made up of cells
  • Rudolf Virchow

    Year of Discovery- 1855
    Contribution- he discovered that cells come from cells, the only source for a living cell was another cell
    How discovery was made- he was one of the first to accept Robert Remaks work which said cells come from division of pre-existing cells
    Why his model disproved previous model- he extended upon Schleidens thought that the nucleus has something to do with cell division, he showed how we get cells, cells reproduce to make new cells