Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
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Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (Delft, 24 October 1632 - 26 August 1723) was a Dutch tradesman and scientist. He is commonly known as ‘the father of microbiology’.
Leeuwenhoek's scientific discoveries
Using his handcrafted microscopes, he was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms. He was also the first to record microscopic observations of muscle fibres, bacteria, spermatozoa and blood flow in capillaries. During his lifetime, Van Leeuwenhoek ground over 500 optical lenses and created over 400 different types of microscopes, only nine of which still exist today.
Van Leeuwenhoek was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge in 1680, in recognition of his work.