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Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723). Natuurkundige te Delft Rijksmuseum SK-A-
957.jpeg
A portrait of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (16321723) by Jan Verkolje
Born 24 October 1632
Delft, Dutch Republic
Died 26 August 1723 (aged 90)
Delft, Dutch Republic
Nationality Dutch
Known for The first acknowledged microscopist and microbiologist[note 1]
Microscopic discovery of microorganisms (animalcule)
Scientific career
Fields Microscopy
Microbiology
Influences Robert Hooke
Regnier de Graaf
Influenced History of biology and life sciences
Natural history
Scientific Revolution
Age of Reason
Signature
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Signature.svg
Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek[note 2] (/'le?v?nh?k/, Dutch: [?n'to?ni v?n 'le?u?
(n)??uk] (About this sound listen); 24 October 1632 26 August 1723) was a Dutch
businessman, scientist, and one of the notable representatives of the Golden Age of
Dutch science and technology. A largely self-taught man in science, he is commonly
known as "the Father of Microbiology", and often considered to be the first
acknowledged microscopist and microbiologist. Van Leeuwenhoek is best known for his
pioneering work in the field of microscopy and for his contributions toward the
establishment of microbiology as a scientific discipline.

Raised in Delft, in the Dutch Republic, van Leeuwenhoek worked as a draper in his
youth and founded his own shop in 1654. He became well recognized in municipal
politics and eventually, developed an interest in lensmaking. Using his handcrafted
microscopes, he was the first to observe and describe microorganisms, which he
originally referred to as animalcules (from Latin animalculum = "tiny animal"). His
1670s discovery and study of the hitherto unknown microscopic world (or microbial
life) is also considered one of the most notable achievements of the Golden Age of
Dutch exploration and discovery (ca. 1590s1720s), similar to the Dutch discovery
and mapping of largely unknown landmasses and far southern skies during the Age of
Exploration.

Most of the "animalcules" are now referred to as unicellular organisms, although he


observed multicellular organisms in pond water. He was also the first to document
microscopic observations of muscle fibers, bacteria, spermatozoa, and blood flow in
capillaries. Van Leeuwenhoek did not write any books; his discoveries came to light
through correspondence with the Royal Society, which published his letters.

Contents [hide]
1 Early life and career
2 Microscopic study
2.1 Recognition by the Royal Society
2.2 Scientific fame
3 Techniques and discoveries
4 Legacy and recognition
5 Notable quotes
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
9 Sources
10 External links
Early life and career

van Leeuwenhoek's birth house in Delft, in the Netherlands, in 1926 before it was
demolished
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was born in Delft, Dutch Republic, on 24 October 1632. On 4
November, he was baptized as Thonis. His father, Philips Antonisz van Leeuwenhoek,
was a basket maker who died when Antonie was only five years old. His mother,
Margaretha (Bel van den Berch), came from a well-to-do brewer's family. She
remarried Jacob Jansz Molijn, a painter. Antonie had four older sisters, Margriet,
Geertruyt, Neeltje, and Catharina.[5] When he was around ten years old his step-
father died. He attended school in Warmond for a short time before being sent to
live in Benthuizen with his uncle, an attorney. At the age of 16 he became a
bookkeeper's apprentice at a linen-draper's shop in Amsterdam,[6] which was owned
by the Scot William Davidson. Van Leeuwenhoek left there after six years.[7][8]

Van Leeuwenhoek married Barbara de Mey in July 1654, with whom he fathered one
surviving daughter, Maria (four other children died in infancy). That same year he
returned to Delft, where he would live and study for the rest of his life. He
opened a draper's shop, which he ran throughout the 1650s. His wife died in 1666,
and in 1671, Van Leeuwenhoek remarried to Cornelia Swalmius with whom he had no
children.[9] His status in Delft had grown throughout the years. In 1660 he
received a lucrative job as chamberlain for the assembly chamber of the Delft
sheriffs in the city hall, a position which he would hold for almost 40 years. In
1669 he was appointed as a land surveyor by the court of Holland; at some time he
combined it with another municipal job, being the official "wine-gauger" of Delft
and in charge of the city wine imports and taxation.[10]

Painting of man with scroll and compass, standing by sunlit window


The Geographer by Johannes Vermeer
Van Leeuwenhoek was a contemporary of another famous Delft citizen, the painter
Johannes Vermeer, who was baptized just four days earlier. It has been suggested
that he is the man portrayed in two Vermeer paintings of the late 1660s, The
Astronomer and The Geographer, however, others argue that there appears to be
little physical similarity. Because they were both relatively important men in a
city with only 24,000 inhabitants, it is likely that they were at least
acquaintances; Van Leeuwenhoek acted as the executor of Vermeer's will after the
painter died in 1675.[11][note 3]

Microscopic study
See also: Microscopic discovery of microorganisms
While running his draper shop, van Leeuwenhoek wanted to see the quality of the
thread better than possible using magnifying lenses then available. He began to
develop an interest in lensmaking, although few records exist of his early
activity. Van Leeuwenhoek's interest in microscopes and a familiarity with glass
processing led to one of the most significant, and simultaneously well-hidden,
technical insights in the history of science.[citation needed]

By placing the middle of a small rod of soda lime glass in a hot flame, van
Leeuwenhoek could pull the hot section apart to create two long whiskers of glass.
Then, by reinserting the end of one whisker into the flame, he could create a very
small, high-quality glass sphere. These spheres became the lenses of his
microscopes, with the smallest spheres providing the highest magnifications.
[citation needed]

See caption
A microscopic section of a one-year-old ash tree (Fraxinus) wood, drawing made by
van Leeuwenhoek
Recognition by the Royal Society
After developing his method for creating powerful lenses and applying them to the
study of the microscopic world, van Leeuwenhoek introduced his work to his friend,
the prominent Dutch physician Reinier de Graaf. When the Royal Society in London
published the groundbreaking work of an Italian lensmaker in their journal
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, de Graaf wrote to the editor of
the journal, Henry Oldenburg, with a ringing endorsement of van Leeuwenhoek's
microscopes which, he claimed, "far surpass those which we have hitherto seen". In
response, in 1673 the society published a letter from van Leeuwenhoek that included
his microscopic observations on mold, bees, and lice.[12]

Page in a handwritten manuscript volume


A 1677 letter from van Leeuwenhoek to Oldenburg, with the latter's English
translation behind, the full correspondence remains in the Royal Society Library
Van Leeuwenhoek's work fully captured the attention of the Royal Society, and he
began corresponding regularly with the society regarding his observations. At first
he had been reluctant to publicize his findings, regarding himself as a businessman
with little scientific, artistic, or writing background, but de Graaf urged him to
be more confident in his work.[13] By the time van Leeuwenhoek died in 1723, he had
written some 190 letters to the Royal Society, detailing his findings in a wide
variety of fields, centered on his work in microscopy. He only wrote letters in his
own colloquial Dutch; he never published a proper scientific paper in Latin. He
strongly preferred to work alone, distrusting the sincerity of those who offered
their assistance.[14] The letters were translated into Latin or English by Henry
Oldenburg, who had learned Dutch for this very purpose. Despite the initial success
of van Leeuwenhoek's relationship with the Royal Society, soon relations became
severely strained. In 1676, his credibility was questioned when he sent the Royal
Society a copy of his first observations of microscopic single-celled organisms.
Previously, the existence of single-celled organisms was entirely unknown. Thus,
even with his established reputation with the Royal Society as a reliable observer,
his observations of microscopic life were initially met with some skepticism.[15]

Eventually, in the face of van Leeuwenhoek's insistence, the Royal Society arranged
for Alexander Petrie, minister to the English Reformed Church in Delft; Benedict
Haan, at that time Lutheran minister at Delft; and Henrik Cordes, then Lutheran
minister at the Hague, accompanied by Sir Robert Gordon and four others, to
determine whether it was in fact van Leeuwenhoek's ability to observe and reason
clearly, or perhaps, the Royal Society's theories of life that might require
reform. Finally in 1677,[16] van Leeuwenhoek's observations were fully acknowledged
by the Royal Society.[17]

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was elected to the Royal Society in February 1680 on the
nomination of William Croone, a then-prominent physician.[note 4] Van Leeuwenhoek
was "taken aback" by the nomination, which he considered a high honor, although he
did not attend the induction ceremony in London, nor did he ever attend a Royal
Society meeting.[19]

Scientific fame
By the end of the seventeenth century, van Leeuwenhoek had a virtual monopoly on
microscopic study and discovery. His contemporary Robert Hooke, an early microscope
pioneer, bemoaned that the field had come to rest entirely on one man's shoulders.
[20] He was visited over the years by many notable individuals, such as the Russian
Tsar Peter the Great. To the disappointment of his guests, van Leeuwenhoek refused
to reveal the cutting-edge microscopes he relied on for his discoveries, instead
showing visitors a collection of average-quality lenses.[21]

An experienced businessman, van Leeuwenhoek believed that if his simple method for
creating the critically important lens was revealed, the scientific community of
his time would likely disregard or even forget his role in microscopy. He therefore
allowed others to believe that he was laboriously spending most of his nights and
free time grinding increasingly tiny lenses to use in microscopes, even though this
belief conflicted both with his construction of hundreds of microscopes and his
habit of building a new microscope whenever he chanced upon an interesting specimen
that he wanted to preserve. He made about 200 microscopes with a different
magnification.[citation needed]

Van Leeuwenhoek was visited by Leibniz, William III of Orange and his wife, Mary II
of England, and the burgemeester (mayor) Johan Huydecoper of Amsterdam, the latter
being very interested in collecting and growing plants for the Hortus Botanicus
Amsterdam, and all gazed at the tiny creatures. In 1698, van Leeuwenhoek was
invited to visit the Tsar Peter the Great on his boat. On this occasion van
Leeuwenhoek presented the Tsar an "eel-viewer", so Peter could study blood
circulation whenever he wanted.[citation needed]

Techniques and discoveries


Schematic drawings
van Leeuwenhoek's microscopes by Henry Baker
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek made more than 500 optical lenses. He also created at least
25 single-lens microscopes, of differing types, of which only nine have survived.
These microscopes were made of silver or copper frames, holding hand-made lenses.
Those that have survived are capable of magnification up to 275 times. It is
suspected that van Leeuwenhoek possessed some microscopes that could magnify up to
500 times. Although he has been widely regarded as a dilettante or amateur, his
scientific research was of remarkably high quality.[22]

The single-lens microscopes of van Leeuwenhoek were relatively small devices, the
largest being about 5 cm long.[23][24] They are used by placing the lens very close
in front of the eye, while looking in the direction of the sun. The other side of
the microscope had a pin, where the sample was attached in order to stay close to
the lens. There were also three screws to move the pin and the sample along three
axes: one axis to change the focus, and the two other axes to navigate through the
sample.

Van Leeuwenhoek maintained throughout his life that there are aspects of microscope
construction "which I only keep for myself", in particular his most critical secret
of how he made the lenses. For many years no-one was able to reconstruct van
Leeuwenhoek's design techniques, however, in 1957, C.L. Stong used thin glass
thread fusing instead of polishing, and successfully created some working samples
of a van Leeuwenhoek design microscope.[25] Such a method was also discovered
independently by A. Mosolov and A. Belkin at the Russian Novosibirsk State Medical
Institute.[26]

See caption
A replica of a microscope by van Leeuwenhoek
Van Leeuwenhoek used samples and measurements to estimate numbers of microorganisms
in units of water.[27][28] He also made good use of the huge advantage provided by
his method. He studied a broad range of microscopic phenomena, and shared the
resulting observations freely with groups such as the British Royal Society.[29]
Such work firmly established his place in history as one of the first and most
important explorers of the microscopic world. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was one of
the first people to observe cells, much like Robert Hooke.
Van Leeuwenhoek's main discoveries are:

infusoria (protists in modern zoological classification), in 1674


bacteria, (e.g., large Selenomonads from the human mouth), in 1683 [30][note 5][31]
[note 6]
the vacuole of the cell
spermatozoa, in 1677
the banded pattern of muscular fibers, in 1682
In 1687, van Leeuwenhoek reported his research on the coffee bean. He roasted the
bean, cut it into slices and saw a spongeous interior. The bean was pressed, and an
oil appeared. He boiled the coffee with rain water twice and set it aside.[32]

Like Robert Boyle and Nicolaas Hartsoeker, van Leeuwenhoek was interested in dried
cochineal, trying to find out if the dye came from a berry or an insect.[33][34]
[35]

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's religion was "Dutch Reformed" Calvinist.[36] He often


referred with reverence to the wonders God designed in making creatures great and
small. He believed that his amazing discoveries were merely further proof of the
great wonder of God's creation.[37][38]

Legacy and recognition


Gravestone with Dutch inscription
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is buried in the Oude Kerk in Delft.

A cluster of Escherichia coli bacteria magnified 10,000 times. In the early modern
period, Leeuwenhoek's discovery and study of the microscopic world, like the Dutch
discovery and mapping of largely unknown lands and skies, is considered one of the
most notable achievements of the Golden Age of Dutch exploration and discovery (ca.
1590s1720s).
By the end of his life, van Leeuwenhoek had written approximately 560 letters to
the Royal Society and other scientific institutions concerning his observations and
discoveries. Even during the last weeks of his life, van Leeuwenhoek continued to
send letters full of observations to London. The last few contained a precise
description of his own illness. He suffered from a rare disease, an uncontrolled
movement of the midriff, which now is named van Leeuwenhoek's disease.[39] He died
at the age of 90, on 26 August 1723, and was buried four days later in the Oude
Kerk in Delft.[citation needed]

In 1981, the British microscopist Brian J. Ford found that van Leeuwenhoek's
original specimens had survived in the collections of the Royal Society of London.
They were found to be of high quality, and all were well preserved.[40][41][42]
Ford carried out observations with a range of single-lens microscopes, adding to
our knowledge of van Leeuwenhoek's work.[43]

Ford, as a Leeuwenhoek expert, wrote of him (1992):

Antony van Leeuwenhoek remains one of the most imperfectly understood figures in
the origins of experimental biology. The popular view is that Leeuwenhoek worked in
a manner that was essentially crude and undisciplined, using untried methods of
investigation that were lacking in refinement and objectivity. He has often been
designated as a 'dilettante.' His microscopes, furthermore, have been described as
primitive and doubt has been expressed over his ability to have made many of the
observations attributed to him. Recent research shows these views to be erroneous.
"His work was carried out conscientiously, and the observations were recorded with
painstaking diligence. Though we may see evidence of his globulist understanding of
organic matter (and indeed, this view has frequently been cited as evidence of his
observational inadequacies), this minor preoccupation cannot detract from two firm
principles that underlie his work: (a) a clear ability to construct experimental
procedures which were, for their time, rational and repeatable, and (b) a
willingness both to fly in the face of received opinion for example, over the
question of spontaneous generation and to abandon a previously held belief in the
light of new evidence.
"In his method of analysing a problem, Leeuwenhoek was able to lay many of the
ground rules of experimentation and did much to found, not only the science of
microscopy, but also the philosophy of biological experimentation. [22]
With regard to Leeuwenhoek's importance in history of microbiology and science in
general, British biochemist Nick Lane has written (2015):

More than being the first to see this unimagined world of 'animalcules', he was
the first even to think of lookingcertainly, the first with the power to see.
Using his own deceptively simple, single-lensed microscopes, he did not merely
observe, but conducted ingenious experiments, exploring and manipulating his
microscopic universe with a curiosity that belied his lack of a map or bearings.
Leeuwenhoek was a pioneer, a scientist of the highest calibre, yet his reputation
suffered at the hands of those who envied his fame or scorned his unschooled
origins, as well as through his own mistrustful secrecy of his methods, which
opened a world that others could not comprehend. [15]
The Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital in Amsterdam, named after van Leeuwenhoek, is
specialized in oncology.[44]

In 2004, a public poll in the Netherlands to determine the greatest Dutchman ("De
Grootste Nederlander") named van Leeuwenhoek the 4th-greatest Dutchman of all time.

On 24 October 2016, Google commemorated the 384th anniversary of van Leeuwenhoek's


birth with a Doodle that depicted his discovery of "little animals" or animalcules,
now known as bacteria.[45]

Leeuwenhoek Medal, Leeuwenhoek Lecture, Leeuwenhoek (crater), Leeuwenhoeckia,


Levenhookia (a genus of species in the family Stylidiaceae), and Leeuwenhoekiella
(an aerobic bacterial genus) are named after him.

Notable quotes
My work, which I've done for a long time, was not pursued in order to gain
the praise I now enjoy, but chiefly from a craving after knowledge, which I notice
resides in me more than in most other men. And therewithal, whenever I found out
anything remarkable, I have thought it my duty to put down my discovery on paper,
so that all ingenious people might be informed thereof.
?Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, in a letter dated 12 June 1716.[46]
See also
Timeline of microscope technology
History of the microscope
History of microscopy
History of microbiology
Science and technology in the Dutch Republic
Scientific Revolution
Brian J. Ford (Leeuwenhoek expert)
Microscopic scale
Animalcule
Microscopic discovery of microorganisms
Microscopic organisms described by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
List of people considered father or mother of a scientific field
Regnier de Graaf
Jan Swammerdam
Nicolas Steno
Robert Hooke
Johannes Vermeer
Dutch Golden Age
Notes
Jump up ^ Van Leeuwenhoek is universally acknowledged as the father of microbiology
because he was the first to undisputedly discover/observe, describe, study and
conduct scientific experiments with microscopic organisms (also known as microbes
or microorganisms), using simple single-lensed microscopes of his own design.[1]
Leeuwenhoek is also considered to be the father of bacteriology and protozoology
(recently known as protistology).[2][3]
Jump up ^ The spelling of van Leeuwenhoek's name is exceptionally varied. He was
christened as Thonis, but always went by Antonj (corresponding with the English
Antony). The final j of his given name is the Dutch tense i. Until 1683 he
consistently used the spelling Antonj Leeuwenhoeck (ending in oeck) when signing
his letters. Throughout the mid-1680s he experimented with the spelling of his
surname, and after 1685 settled on the most recognized spelling, van Leeuwenhoek.
[4]
Jump up ^ In A Short History of Nearly Everything (p. 236) Bill Bryson alludes to
rumors that Vermeer's mastery of light and perspective came from use of a camera
obscura produced by Van Leeuwenhoek. This is one of the examples of the
controversial HockneyFalco thesis, which claims that some of the Old Masters used
optical aids to produce their masterpieces.
Jump up ^ He was also nominated as a "corresponding member" of the French Academy
of Sciences in 1699, but there is no evidence that the nomination was accepted, nor
that he was ever aware of it.[18]
Jump up ^ The "Lens on Leeuwenhoek" site, which is exhaustively researched and
annotated, prints this letter in the original Dutch and in English translation,
with the date 17 September 1683. Assuming that the date of 1676 is accurately
reported from Pommerville (2014), that book seems more likely to be in error than
the intensely detailed, scholarly researched website focused entirely on van
Leeuwenhoek.
Jump up ^ Sixty-two years later, in 1745, a physician correctly attributed a
diarrhea epidemic to van Leeuwenhoek's "bloodless animals" (Valk 1745, cited by
Moll 2003).
References
Jump up ^ Lane, Nick (6 March 2015). "The Unseen World: Reflections on Leeuwenhoek
(1677) 'Concerning Little Animal'." Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2015 Apr;
370 (1666): 20140344. [doi:10.1098/rstb.2014.0344]
Jump up ^ Dobell, Clifford (1923). "A Protozoological Bicentenary: Antony van
Leeuwenhoek (16321723) and Louis Joblot (16451723)". Parasitology. 15: 30819.
doi:10.1017/s0031182000014797.
Jump up ^ Corliss, John O (1975). "Three Centuries of Protozoology: A Brief Tribute
to its Founding Father, A. van Leeuwenhoek of Delft". The Journal of Protozoology.
22 (1): 37. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.1975.tb00934.x.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 300305.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 1921.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 2324.
Jump up ^ The curious observer. Events of the first half of van Leeuwenhoek's life.
Lens on Leeuwenhoek (1 September 2009). Retrieved 20 April 2013.
Jump up ^ Huerta, p. 31.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 2731.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 3337.
Jump up ^ Van Berkel, K. (24 February 1996). Vermeer, Van Leeuwenhoek en De
Astronoom. Vrij Nederland (Dutch magazine), p. 6267.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 3741.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 4142.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 4344.
^ Jump up to: a b Lane, Nick (6 Mar 2015). "The Unseen World: Reflections on
Leeuwenhoek (1677) 'Concerning Little Animal'". Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci.
2015 Apr 19; 370(1666). Retrieved 16 Jan 2017.
Jump up ^ Schierbeek, A.: "The Disbelief of the Royal Society." Measuring the
Invisible World. London and New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1959. N. pag. Print.
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account of the father of protozoology and bacteriology and his multifarious
discoveries in these disciplines;". Recall.archive.org. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 5354.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 4650.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 5253.
Jump up ^ Dobell, pp. 5461.
^ Jump up to: a b Brian J. Ford (1992). "From Dilettante to Diligent Experimenter:
a Reappraisal of Leeuwenhoek as microscopist and investigator". Biology History. 5
(3).
Jump up ^ Anderson, Douglas. "Tiny Microscopes". Lens on Leeuwenhoek. Archived from
the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
Jump up ^ Lens on Leeuwenhoek: How he made his tiny microscopes.
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Jump up ^ "A glass-sphere microscope". Funsci.com. Archived from the original on 11
June 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
Jump up ^ A. Mosolov & A. Belkin (1980). "Secret of Antony van Leeuwenhoek?". Nauka
i Zhizn (Science and Life). 09-1980: 8082.
Jump up ^ F. N. Egerton (1967). "Leeuwenhoek as a founder of animal demography".
Journal of the History of Biology. 1: 122. JSTOR 4330484. doi:10.1007/BF00149773.
Jump up ^ Frank N. Egerton (2006). "A History of the Ecological Sciences, Part 19:
Leeuwenhoek's Microscopic Natural History". Bulletin of the Ecological Society of
America. 87: 47. doi:10.1890/0012-9623(2006)87[47:AHOTES]2.0.CO;2.
Jump up ^ "Robert Hooke (16351703)". Ucmp.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
Jump up ^ Anderson, Douglas. "Wrote Letter 39 of 1683-09-17 (AB 76) to Francis
Aston". Lens on Leeuwenhoek. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016.
Retrieved 26 September 2016.
Jump up ^ Pommerville, Jeffrey (2014). Fundamentals of microbiology. Burlington,
MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-4496-8861-5.
Jump up ^ 9 May 1687, Missive 54.
Jump up ^ Antoni van Leeuwenhoek; Samuel Hoole (1800). The Select Works of Antony
van Leeuwenhoek, Containing His Microscopical Discoveries in Many of the Works of
Nature. G. Sidney. pp. 213.
Jump up ^ Rocky Road: Leeuwenhoek. Strangescience.net (22 November 2012). Retrieved
20 April 2013.
Jump up ^ Greenfield, Amy Butler (2005). A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the
Quest for the Color of Desire. New York: Harper Collins Press. ISBN 0-06-052276-3
Jump up ^ "The religious affiliation of Biologist A. van Leeuwenhoek".
Adherents.com. 8 July 2005. Archived from the original on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 13
June 2010.
Jump up ^ "The Religion of Antony van Leeuwenhoek". 2006. Archived from the
original on 4 May 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2006.
Jump up ^ A. Schierbeek, Editor-in-Chief of the Collected Letters of A. van
Leeuwenhoek, Measuring the Invisible World: The Life and Works of Antoni van
Leeuwenhoek F R S, Abelard-Schuman (London and New York, 1959), QH 31 L55 S3, LC
59-13233. This book contains excerpts of van Leeuwenhoek's letters and focuses on
his priority in several new branches of science, but makes several important
references to his spiritual life and motivation.
Jump up ^ Life and work of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek of Delft in Holland; 16321723
(1980) Published by the Municipal Archives Delft, p. 9
Jump up ^ Biology History vol 5(3), December 1992
Jump up ^ The Microscope vol 43(2) pp 4757
Jump up ^ Spektrum der Wissenschaft pp 6871, June 1998
Jump up ^ "The discovery by Brian J Ford of Leeuwenhoek's original specimens, from
the dawn of microscopy in the 16th century". Brianjford.com. Retrieved 13 June
2010.
Jump up ^ Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 October 2016.
Jump up ^ New Google Doodle Celebrates Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Inventor of
Microbiology, Retrieved 24 October 2016.
Jump up ^ Kelly, Kate: The Scientific Revolution and Medicine: 14501700. (Facts on
File, 2009, ISBN 978-0816072071, p. 81)
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University of Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 2004-02-18. Retrieved 3
March 2016. Indeed, in this publication "Geneeskundig Verhaal van de Algemeene
Loop-ziekte..." [?Valk (1745)?], the author uses the work of Leeuwenhoek in
describing the disease, draws some (preliminary) conclusions about the cause of the
disease, he warns "non-believers of Van Leeuwenhoek to use a magnifying glass" and
gives commentaries on the work of Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek and his findings.
Payne, Alma Smith (1970). The Cleere Observer: A biography of Antoni van
Leeuwenhoek. London: Macmillan.
Ratcliff, Marc J.: The Quest for the Invisible: Microscopy in the Enlightenment.
(Ashgate, 2009, 332 pp)
Robertson, Lesley; Backer, Jantien et al.: Antoni van Leeuwenhoek: Master of the
Minuscule. (BRILL, 2016, ISBN 978-9004304284)
Ruestow, Edward G (1996). The Microscope in the Dutch Republic: The Shaping of
Discovery. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Snyder, Laura J. (2015). Eye of the Beholder: Johannes Vermeer, Antoni van
Leeuwenhoek, and the Reinvention of Seeing. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Struik, Dirk J.: The Land of Stevin and Huygens: A Sketch of Science and Technology
in the Dutch Republic during the Golden Century (Studies in the History of Modern
Science). (Springer, 1981, 208 pp)
Valk, Evert (1745). Een geneeskundig verhaal van de algemeene loop-ziekte, die te
Kampen en in de om-geleegene streeken heeft gewoed in 't jaar 1736 neevens een
werktuigkunstige, en natuurkundige beschryvinge van de oorzaak, uitwerking en
genezinge waar in word aan-getoond, dat dezelve, waarschynlyk, door bloed-loose
diertjes, beschreven in de werken van Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, het werd te weeg
gebragt, en door kwik voor-naamentlyk, uit-geroeid [A work on a disease in the city
of Kampen in 1736 caused by "little animals". These bloodless animals are most
likely the little animals described in the work of Leeuwenhoek and they can be
killed by treatment of mercury] (in Dutch). Haarlem: Van der Vinne. p. 97.
Retrieved 3 March 2016.
Wilson, Catherine: The Invisible World: Early Modern Philosophy and the Invention
of the Microscope. (Princeton University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0691017099)
External links
Wikisource has original works written by or about:
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Anton van Leeuwenhoek (category)
Leeuwenhoek's letters to the Royal Society
The Correspondence of Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek in EMLO
Lens on Leeuwenhoek (site on Leeuwenhoek's life and observations)
Vermeer connection website
University of California, Berkeley article on van Leeuwenhoek
Works by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about Antonie van Leeuwenhoek at Internet Archive
Retrospective paper on the Leeuwenhoek research by Brian J. Ford.
Images seen through a van Leeuwenhoek microscope by Brian J. Ford.
Instructions on making a van Leeuwenhoek Microscope Replica by Alan Shinn
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