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Leeuwenhoek, Antonie van (1632-1723) :
A Dutch scientist who was the first to observe parts of plants and animals, tiny insects, blood cells, and bits of dust through a microscope. He wrote, “In the year 1675, I discovered living creatures in rainwater, which had stood for a few days in a new pot.” He saw “many little animals, very prettily moving.” Some “shot through water like a pike.” Others “spun round like a top.” Still other seemed to make “not the least motion.” Today we call the “little animals” that Leeuwenhoek saw in rainwater protozoa and bacteria.
