Dutch microscopist, called "Father of
Scientific Microscopy." Cloth merchant and wine taster
by trade. His works were published under title
Secrets of Nature (1668). He extended
Malpighi's demonstration of blood capillaries and six
years later gave the first accurate description of red
blood corpuscles. He discovered also the effect of
aphids on plant life and showed that they reproduced
parthenogentically. He described different stem
structures in monocots and dicots. He understood the
nature of red blood corpuscles and studied human male
spermatazoa.
He was responsible for the first representation of
bacteria by a drawing in 1683. It is said that he made
over 400 microscopes and he bequeathed 26 to the Royal
Society of London.
Additional information about Antonj Van
Leeuwenhoek may be found on the Internet.
