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The microscope drawing in a shows a tube with an eyepiece at the top and a small lens pointed at the circle on the base of the apparatus. A larger lens focuses light from a candle at the circle on the base of the apparatus. Figure b shows a drawing of a leaf at the bottom above that is a black circle with two large, irregular shaped regions. Each of these regions is filled with tiny white rectangles arranged in rows.
Robert Hooke used his (a) compound microscope to view (b) cork cells. Both of these engravings are from his seminal work Micrographia , published in 1665.
  • Explain the difference between simple and compound microscopes.
  • Compare and contrast the contributions of van Leeuwenhoek, Hooke, and Galileo to early microscopy.

Who invented the microscope?

While Antonie van Leeuwenhoek and Robert Hooke generally receive much of the credit for early advances in microscopy, neither can claim to be the inventor of the microscope. Some argue that this designation should belong to Hans and Zaccharias Janssen , Dutch spectacle-makers who may have invented the telescope, the simple microscope, and the compound microscope during the late 1500s or early 1600s ( [link] ). Unfortunately, little is known for sure about the Janssens, not even the exact dates of their births and deaths. The Janssens were secretive about their work and never published. It is also possible that the Janssens did not invent anything at all; their neighbor, Hans Lippershey , also developed microscopes and telescopes during the same time frame, and he is often credited with inventing the telescope. The historical records from the time are as fuzzy and imprecise as the images viewed through those early lenses, and any archived records have been lost over the centuries.

By contrast, van Leeuwenhoek and Hooke can thank ample documentation of their work for their respective legacies. Like Janssen, van Leeuwenhoek began his work in obscurity, leaving behind few records. However, his friend, the prominent physician Reinier de Graaf, wrote a letter to the editor of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London calling attention to van Leeuwenhoek’s powerful microscopes. From 1673 onward, van Leeuwenhoek began regularly submitting letters to the Royal Society detailing his observations. In 1674, his report describing single-celled organisms produced controversy in the scientific community, but his observations were soon confirmed when the society sent a delegation to investigate his findings. He subsequently enjoyed considerable celebrity, at one point even entertaining a visit by the czar of Russia.

Similarly, Robert Hooke had his observations using microscopes published by the Royal Society in a book called Micrographia in 1665. The book became a bestseller and greatly increased interest in microscopy throughout much of Europe.

A photo of Zaccharias Janssen is shown
Zaccharias Janssen, along with his father Hans, may have invented the telescope, the simple microscope, and the compound microscope during the late 1500s or early 1600s. The historical evidence is inconclusive.

Key concepts and summary

  • Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is credited with the first observation of microbes, including protists and bacteria, with simple microscopes that he made.
  • Robert Hooke was the first to describe what we now call cells.
  • Simple microscopes have a single lens, while compound microscopes have multiple lenses.

Fill in the blank

A microscope that uses multiple lenses is called a _________ microscope.

compound

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Short answer

Why is Antonie van Leeuwenhoek’s work much better known than that of Zaccharias Janssen?

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Why did the cork cells observed by Robert Hooke appear to be empty, as opposed to being full of other structures?

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Practice MCQ 2

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Source:  OpenStax, Microbiology. OpenStax CNX. Nov 01, 2016 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col12087/1.4
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