Question

Who discovered the cell and how?

Answer 1

Hint: In 1665, cell was first discovered and named by Robert Hooke. He observed cells in a cork slice and explained these cells in a book called Micrographia.

Complete answer:
Cell was discovered by a British scientist, Robert Hooke in 1665. He observed cells in a cork slice under his self-designed microscope and noticed honeycomb like compartments. He coined them as cells. Term cell was derived from latin word cellula = a hollow space. Hooke explained these cells in a book named Micrographia. Hooke discovered the cell wall and gave no indication of the nucleus and other organelles found in the cell. Soon after Robert Hooke discovered cells in cork, Dutch draper Anton van Leeuwenhoek made other important discoveries using a microscope. Leeuwenhoek made his own microscope lenses that were more powerful than other microscopes of his time. Leeuwenhoek’s microscope was almost as strong as modern day light microscopes. Leeuwenhoek was the first person to observe human cells and bacteria using his microscope.

Additional information:
Cell is the structural and functional unit of life and anything less than a complete cell has no independent existence.
Modern Cell Theory
All known living things are cellular.
The cell is a structural & functional unit of living organisms.
All cells are formed by the growth and division arises from pre-existing cells.
A cell contains hereditary information which is passed from one generation to another.
All cells are basically similar in chemical composition.
All biochemical reactions of life occur within cells.

Note: The cell theory, or cell doctrine, states that all organisms are made cells. The concept was initially described by Schleiden & Schwann in 1839 and has remained as the foundation of modern biology.