Who is Anton van Leeuwenhoek | Biography & Life.

(1632/10/24 - 1723/08/26)

Antony van Leeuwenhoek

Manufacturer of microscopes

Born October 24, 1632 in Delft, the Netherlands.

He studied in Amsterdam and at age 20 he returned to Delft. When I worked as a merchant and sheriff of Delft valet, built as tiny entertainment biconvex lenses mounted on brass plates, which are held close to the eye. Through them he could see objects, who was riding on the head of a PIN, extending them to three hundred times. It got lenses between 70 and 250 increases.

In the year 1668 developed the discovery of the network of capillaries of the Italian Marcello Malpighi, demonstrating how circulating red blood cells by a rabbit ear capillaries and interdigital membrane of a frog leg. In 1674 he made the first accurate description of the red cells of the blood. Later he observed in the water of a pond, rainwater and human saliva, which he called animalculos, today known as protozoa and bacteria. In 1677, Anton van Leeuwenhoek described the sperm of insects and humans.

Opposed to the theory of spontaneous generation showing that the weevils, not they arose spontaneously from grains of wheat and sand, but that they developed from tiny eggs. It examined plants and muscle tissue, and described three types of bacteria: Bacillus, cocci and spirits. However, it kept secret the art of building your lenses, so is not made new observations of bacteria until developed the microscope in the 19th century.

It is said that the model for the work of the painter Jan Vermeer was 'geographer', both were friends. As recognition of his discoveries was appointed member of the Royal Society of London.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek died August 26, 1723 in Delft.

Translated for educational purposes.