Leeuwenhoek, Antony van definition of Leeuwenhoek, Antony van in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Leeuwenhoek, Antony van (än`tōnē vän lā`vənh

k'), 1632–1723, Dutch student of natural history and maker of microscopes, b. Delft. His use of lenses in examining cloth as a draper's apprentice probably led to his interest in lens making. He assembled over 247 microscopes, some of which magnified objects 270 times. In the course of his examination of innumerable microorganisms and tissue samples, he gave the first complete descriptions of the bacteria bacteria [pl. of bacterium], microscopic unicellular prokaryotic organisms characterized by the lack of a membrane-bound nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. Once considered a part of the plant kingdom, bacteria were eventually placed in a separate kingdom, Monera .
..... Click the link for more information. , the protozoans protozoan (prō'təzō`ən), informal term for the unicellular heterotrophs of the kingdom Protista .
..... Click the link for more information. (which he called animalcules), spermatozoa, and striped muscle. He also observed the red blood cells in his detailed study of capillary circulation. He was elected to the Royal Society of England in recognition of his work.

Bibliography

See his collected letters (Vol. I–VI, 1939–61).