Leeuwenhoek single-lens microscope

What it is

A single-lens microscope, its tiny lens ground by Leeuwenhoek himself, giving more than 250x magnification, far superior to the compound microscopes of his day. With it he discovered bacteria, protozoa, spermatozoa and red blood cells (1674–1683).

Leeuwenhoek kept his lens-making technique secret.

What it led to

• The discovery of microorganisms ('animalcules')
• Microbiology and germ theory (19th century)
• Scientific correspondence with the Royal Society as a model of publication

Built on

• Compound microscopec. 1590-1625
• Ground and polished glass lenses

Made possible

• Spermatozoon1677
• Lister's achromatic microscope objective1830
• Cell theory (Schleiden and Schwann)1838-1839
• Germ theory and pasteurization1857-1865
• Microbiology
• Achromatic microscope

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