Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) was born in Delft, where he lived for most of his life. Leeuwenhoek attended a grammar school and was taught by his uncle before taking up an apprenticeship with an Amsterdam linen-draper. His first encounter with microscopy would have been examining cloth samples with a magnifying glass.
With his home-made microscopes he observed a wide variety of different objects. A friend of his, Dr. Regnerus de Graaf, introduced Leeuwnhoek's first observations to the Royal Society of London in 1673:
"Mr Leewenhoeck [sic] hath lately contrived Microscopes excelling those that have hitherto been made by Eustachio Divini and others; adding that he hath given a specimen of their excellency by divers Observations, and is ready to receive difficult tasks for more, if the Curious here shall please to send him such." (1)
His observations in this first communication were of mould on the skin, the sting of a bee, the head of a bee, the eye of a bee, and a louse. During his lifetime he sent 190 papers to the Royal Society, and was elected a Fellow in 1680. He kept the method of making his microscopes secret and there was much interest and speculation into their construction. Throughout Europe there was also a great deal of interest in his observations. Many people travelled to his house to see his results first hand.
