Answer:
Anton Van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch businessman and scientist in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology, is known as the father of microbiology as he discovered microorganisms in 1674.
The below-given are some major contributions of Anton Van Leeuwenhoek to microbiology:
- Anton Van Leeuwenhoek is best recognized for the development of the microscope. It is him by whom the magnification power of the microscope was boosted from 20x to 270x.
- It is with his single lensed microscope that he examined bacteria and protozoa. Anton Van Leeuwenhoek was the first one to examine bacteria and protozoa.
- In the year 1674, the microscopic single-celled organisms ‘Animalcules’ were discovered by Anton Van Leeuwenhoek.
- The sperm in mammals was found by him in the year 1677. It is a known fact that life begins with the sperm of the father and the ovum of the mother.
- In addition to this, Anton Van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to investigate blood cells and identify both blood cells and nematodes.