Cell Theory And Scientists Study Guide
There were many different scientists that had an influence in the discovery of cells. Below, you will
find a list of scientists involved and their contributions to the scientific community.
1. Robert Hooke- British scientist, who in 1665, built a microscope and looked at cork from a plant. He
described the cork as looking like hundreds of boxes, and named these boxes “cells” which means
“little boxes”.
2. Anton van Leeuwenhoek- Dutch merchant, in 1673, built a microscope to look at pond scum. He saw
many small creatures swimming around and named them “animalcules” which means “little animals”.
He also was the first person to see bacteria.
3. Matthias Schleiden- German scientist, in 1838, made the observation and conclusion that all plant
parts are made of cells. He came to this conclusion after looking at thousands of plant slides and
reading about other scientists’ research.
4. Theodor Schwann- German scientist, in 1839, stated that all animal tissues are made of cells. He
concluded this after studying numerous animals under the microscope. He also wrote the first two
parts of the cell theory:
a. ALL ORGANISMS ARE COMPOSED OF ONE OR MORE CELLS.
b. THE CELL IS THE BASIC UNIT OF LIFE IN ALL LIVING THINGS.
5. Rudolf Virchow- German scientist, in 1858, saw that cells could not develop from anything except
other cells. He then wrote the third part of the cell theory:
a. ALL CELLS COME FROM EXISTING CELLS.
CELL THEORY
1. ALL ORGANISMS ARE COMPOSED OF ONE OR MORE CELLS. (Schwann)
2. THE CELL IS THE BASIC UNIT OF LIFE IN ALL LIVING THINGS. (Schwann)
3. ALL CELLS COME FROM CELLS. (Virchow)