WHEN WAS THE MICROSCOPE INVENTED?
The precise date for the invention of the microscope depends upon what you call a “microscope.” The magnifying glass has been known since 1021, having been mentioned in a text by Alhazen. The idea of the modern microscope is generally credited to Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch textile merchant. The date of its invention can be taken as either 1653 or 1673. History Van Leeuwenhoek first observed a magnifying glass used by textile merchants in Amsterdam during his apprenticeship in 1653. Van Leeuwenhoek made many improvements over the simple magnifier he first encountered. He hit upon a method for making tiny but powerful lenses and created microscopes of many designs. Time Frame The most powerful surviving example of van Leeuwenhoek’s work has a magnification of 275x. By 1673, his discoveries led to the publication of some of his observations in the Philosophical Transactions of the British Royal Society, the premier scientific journal of the time. This date is usually taken as the “o
