Discovery of Microscope and Microorganisms ( Robert Hooke )

Robert Hooke was an architect, natural philosopher and a scientist. He is well known for his law of elasticity and his book Micrographia. He has described the fruiting bodies of molds in 1665. He is also remembered for using the word cell for the first time. Hooke worked with Thomas Wills, Robert Boyle while studying at Wadham College, Oxford. He also built some of the earliest telescopes. In 1662, Hooke became the curator, the demonstrator of the new experiments at the Royal Society. His book of Micrographia had an accurate and detailed record of his observations through microscope. He observed sponges, insects, bird feathers etc. Most famous observations of Hooke is that of the thin slices of cork describing the cells. Hooke actually viewed the cell walls in the cork tissue. He also reported similar structure in the wood of other plants. He also described a fly's eye. Micrographia. It was published in 1665 and contained the detailed descriptions and observations of the then 30-year-old Robert Hooke through various lenses. It was the first major publication of the Royal Society of London. The book first coined the term cell. The cork cells actually reminded him of the monk's quarters. Micrographia is known for its copper plate engravings of microscope world and also its fold-out plates of insects. It also described the planetary bodies, the wave theory of light, the origin of fossils etc. Hooke is recognized as one of the most important scientists of his time. The microscopes remain unchanged for over next 200 years. In 1850s, German engineer Karl Zeiss made refinements to the lenses. He hired Otto Schott and Ernst Ebb for the same. Thus, the modern microscopes are the outcome of advancement in technology and improved optics. By the help of microscopes, there is nothing so small so as to escape our inquiry. Hence, there is a new visible world discovered to the understanding. Robert Hooke