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Hooke, Robert
He made his discovery in 1663 and discovered honeycomb-like structures in a cork slice using a compound microscope. He coined the word "cell". His model disproved everyone else's because he was the first to prove a smaller unit of life than an organ or tissue. -
Leeuwenhoek, Antoni Van
Leeuwenhoek discovered the cell in 1682. He observed fish blood cells with a microscope at a magnification of 250x. He reported seeing globules, which were the first sightings of cell nuclei. Leeuwenhoek did not have enough education to take his theories further through more complicated experiments so he stopped his work. He was the first to prove that their were smaller structures inside the cell, expanding biology knowledge. -
Brown, Robert
Robert Brown looked at cells of asclepiads and orchids through a microscope to further the study of botany. He noticed pollen traveling in and out of ovals in their cells and called this oval the "the nucleus" and published his findings in 1831. -
Schleiden, Matthias Jakob
Schleiden was a professor of biology at the University of Jena that developed his theories by studying plant structures under the microscope. He wrote a book called “Contributions to Phylogenesis” (1838). He wrote that the different parts of the plant are made up of cells or parts of cells. His theories became the foundation of biology, and are as important as the theory of atoms in chemistry. He was the first biologist to support Darwin's evolution theories. -
Schwann, Theodor
Theodor Schwann stated that all animals and plants are made of cells. He concluded this from already published information. He wrote several books in his theory. He also figured out that a single cell ovum develops into a complete organism. He also discovered the organic nature of yeast and the created the concept of the metabolism. -
Virchow, Rudolf
Virchow became known for his work to understand the effects of disease in organs and tissues of the human body. He figured out that many diseases are caused by cells that are not working properly. In 1855 he corrected theories on how disease cells form and this was a turning point in biology. He correctly determined that cells form from other cells. He also was the first to identify and name leukemia. Virchow wanted to popularize his theory that cells form from other cells.
