Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in 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 one of the first microscopists and microbiologists. Van Leeuwenhoek is best known for his pioneering work in microscopy and for his contributions toward the establishment of microbiology as a scientific discipline.
Portrait by Jan Verkolje, after 1680
Van Leeuwenhoek's birth house at Oosteinde, before it was demolished in 1926.
The Geographer by Johannes Vermeer
A microscopic section of a one-year-old ash tree (Fraxinus) wood, drawing made by Van Leeuwenhoek
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye. There are three well-known branches of microscopy: optical, electron, and scanning probe microscopy, along with the emerging field of X-ray microscopy.
Scanning electron microscope image of pollen (false colors)
Microscopic examination in a biochemical laboratory
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723)
Stereo microscope