Historical Background of Microscopy

Historical Background of Microscopy

Antony Van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) was the first person to use a simple microscope with one lens similar to a magnifying glass. The lens is capable of 50X to 300X magnification.

Robert Hooke, built compound microscopes with multiple lenses. In 17^th century, Dutch spectacle maker Zaccharias Janssen is given the credit for making first compound microscope. However, the early compound microscopes were poor in quality. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister (the father of Joseph Lister who practised antiseptic surgery) made significant development which resulted in the invention of modern compound microscope used in microbiology today.