Antony van Leeuwenhoek Biography Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) was a Dutch chemist credited with developing the science of microbiology. He was a businessman who made his own revolutionary microscopes. He then used this technological breakthrough to make innumerable discoveries of the world that can only be seen through microscopes. He discovered single-celled organisms, bacteria and revolutionised the way science looked at the living world. Entirely self-taught, he was often ... The Dutch scientist and entrepreneur Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) was the first to discover and describe microorganisms (protists, bacteria), living beings he characterized as “animalcules” (little animals). Raised in Delft, Dutch Republic, Van Leeuwenhoek worked as a draper in his youth and founded his own shop in 1654. He became well-recognized in municipal politics and developed an interest in lensmaking. In the 1670s, he started to explore microbial life with his microscope. He was the first Person, who invented the microscope and discovered the microbial world. He was a draper (Merchant ) from Delft, Holland. He used to grind lenses and made microscopes as a hobby. The microscopes of Leeuwenhoek could magnify objects about 200-300 times.With his microscopes, Leeuwenhoek observed a variety of things like rain water, pond water and scrapings from his own teeth. He saw minute moving objects and called them as “Little animalcules”,which we now know them as ...