Summary
Highlights
The story begins in the 1600s with Zacharias Janssen, who is credited with the first compound microscope. Anton van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutchman, made his own powerful microscopes and observed 'animalcules' (bacteria) in dental scrapings, among other things.
Robert Hooke, a polymath and correspondent of Leeuwenhoek, coined the term 'cell' after observing the small chambers in cork. Hooke's contributions were often overshadowed due to his rivalry with Isaac Newton.
In the 1800s, Matthias Schleiden, a botanist, concluded that all plants are made of cells. Theodor Schwann, studying animal cells, reached the same conclusion for animals. They collaborated on the beginnings of cell theory.
A point of contention was the origin of cells. Schleiden believed in spontaneous crystallization. Rudolph Virchow later showed that cells come from other cells, although his research was controversially 'borrowed' from Robert Remak, adding another layer of intrigue to the theory's development.
Scientific discoveries aren't always made in sterile labs. The cell theory, consisting of three main points (all organisms are made of cells, cells are the basic unit of life, and all cells come from pre-existing cells), has a surprisingly weird history.