Born: 24 October 1632 · Died: 26 August 1723 · Age at death: 90
How old was Antonie van Leeuwenhoek when he died?
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek died aged 90. He was born on 24 October 1632 and died on 26 August 1723.
Dutch cloth merchant whose home-made microscopes made him the first person to see bacteria, the father of microbiology
Did you know?Entirely self-taught, he used his own handcrafted microscopes to become the first person to ever see bacteria and other microorganisms.
Quick facts
Date of birth24 October 1632
Date of death26 August 1723
Age at death90
NationalityDutch
BirthplaceDelft, Netherlands
Occupationbiologist, physicist, instrument maker
Editor's Take:
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the father of microbiology. He was a cloth merchant in Delft with no university training. He began making tiny, powerful lenses to inspect fabric. Turning them on pond water, he saw what he called "animalcules": living things too small for the naked eye. He was the first to see bacteria, sperm cells and blood flowing through capillaries. He reported his findings in hundreds of letters to the Royal Society in London. He guarded the secret of how he made his lenses. He kept working into his nineties.
Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( AHN-tə-nee vahn LAY-vən-hook, -huuk; Dutch:; 24 October 1632 – 26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch art, science and technology.
