MEET THE SCIENTISTS DEVELOPING THE CELL THEORY

WHAT IS A CELL?

The cell is the basic unit of structure and function in living organisms, including plants and animals.

ALL LIVING THINGS HAVE CELLS.

Plants Animals

TOOL USED TO VIEW CELLS

The microscope is used to magnify extremely small objects.

TIMELINE - 1590

Hans and Zacharias Janssen (1590)

Dutch lens grinders

Father and son

Produced first compound microscope (2 lenses)

TIMELINE - 1665

Robert Hooke (1665) English scientist

Looked at a thin slice of cork through a compound microscope and observed tiny, hollow room-like structures.

He called them cells, but he only saw the outer cell walls because the cork cells were not alive.

TIMELINE - 1680

Anton van Leeuwenhook (1680)

Dutch amateur scientist

Looked at blood, rain water, and scrapings from teeth through a simple microscope.

He called the structures he saw “animalcules”.

TIMELINE - 1838

Matthias Schleiden (1838)

German botanist

viewed plant structures under a microscope and discovered that they were made of cells.

TIMELINE - 1839

Theodor Schwann (1839)

German zoologist

viewed animal tissue taken from animal organs under a microscope and discovered the tissue was made of cells.

TIMELINE - 1855

Rudoph Virchow (1855)

German physician

Stated that living cells come only from other living cells (This is a part of cell theory.)