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Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek and His Contribution to Microbiology Essay

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No one would ever expect a Dutch fabric merchant to be the first to discover some of the most abundant organisms in the world. Europe was in the midst of a Scientific Revolution as part of the Renaissance. At this time, new scientific discoveries were being made with the rise of scientists such as Galileo and Newton. Another prominent name in this revolution was Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. Leeuwenhoek first worked in a fabric shop in Delft, Holland in the mid-1600s. Leeuwenhoek used his microscope to observe almost anything he could think of to have a better understanding of what he was seeing. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek contributed to microbiology because he developed the first simple microscope, was the first to observe microorganisms, and was …show more content…

“The short (about 1 millimeter) focal lengths of the lenses would have necessitated placing the eye almost in contact with the lens” ("Anton van Leeuwenhoek"). Leeuwenhoek obtained the clear image by carefully moving the angle of lighting left and right. Leeuwenhoek's techniques of lighting samples under the microscope are still not well known today. This was the only secret that he took to his grave. Even though the simple microscope was difficult to use, scholars visited Leeuwenhoek to be educated on his design. Leeuwenhoek went all over the world giving demonstrations about his microscope for high-ranking people. Without Leeuwenhoek’s simple microscope, microbiology today would not be as advanced.
What is even more impressive than configuring a new and improved microscope was the observations that were seen through the device. First, Leeuwenhoek came up with a theory on the difference on taste of sugar and salt and examined them each to investigate, why they have their certain tastes. He was then curious about why pepper had its sharp taste. After inserting the pepper into snow water, Leeuwenhoek found 3 types of protozoa and a kind of bacteria that was mistaken as a different animalcule. Robert Hooke, an English natural philosopher, was the first to confirm Leeuwenhoek’s discovery of the microorganisms in the pepper and snow water infusion.

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