Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek (1632 – 1723, often spelt in English as Anthony van Leewenhoek) was a Dutch scientist most famous as a pioneer of microscopy.
van Leeuwenhoek lived at a time before science was a profession (he had various jobs) but he ground his own magnifying lenses and built simple microscopes. It is thought this was initially motivated when he worked as a draper and wished to examine the fabric more closely.
He is believed to be the first to have seen microscopic organisms which were previously unknown to science (but now recognised to make up an important part of the earth's biota), and made many microscopic examinations of animal and plant tissues, and consequently made many discoveries. His work dominated a field he had almost single-handedly invented.
van Leeuwenhoek reported his discoveries through letters to the Royal Society of London (i.e., 'THE Royal Society'), which published reports of his discoveries in the Society's Philosophical Transactions – one of the very first scientific journals.
