Biography
Antoni Van Levenguk began creating lenses for a microscope as a hobby. This hobby made him a great scientist who made an invaluable contribution to biology.Childhood and youth
Anthony Van Levenguk was born on October 24, 1632 in Delft, the Netherlands. The scientist was baptized as Tonis Phillips, but he preferred to take a pseudonym to sign up his scientific papers.
Van Levengook was a younger child and a single boy in a large family, grew up with four sisters. The father of children earned the life of the baskets, and the mother took place from the kind of brewers. After the death of the first husband, she tied themsellers to marriage with the artist Jacob Jans Molein. Stephi died when Antoni was a teenager.
After that, the boy moved to live to his uncle in Benizen. Then Van Levenguk went to Amsterdam to become a student of an accountant in William Davidson fabrics. After 6 years, he returned to Delft and opened the shop selling yarn and clothes. Soon, the man began to work at the city hall and engage in the quality control of wines.
According to the biography researchers, Naturalist was friends with the artist Jan Vermeer, who lived with him in the same city. This indicates the fact that Anthony was commissioned to fulfill the last will of the painter after his death. It is also believed that portraits "astronomer" and "geographer" are written from Lewenguk, but there are no significant sources of information confirmation.
Personal life
The personal life of the scientist was not secret, he married 2 times. With the first choices, Barbara de Mei Antoni met in his youth. A couple in different years were born five children, but infancy survived only the daughter of Mary. After the death of his wife, Van Levenguk again associated himself with a marriage with Cornelia Dalkamius.The science
It is not known when the scientist began to be interested in science. It is believed that he got access to his first microscope while serving in the fabric store. Anthony did not suit the quality of lenses, and he began working on creating his own. A man got acquainted with Robert's Book "Micrography" and began experiments with glass.
As a result, Levenguka managed to create lenses that were the size of no more nail, but allowed to increase objects more than 200 times. And according to biographers, some of the inventions of the scientist gave the opportunity to bring closer 500 times, but such glasses were not preserved.
As soon as naturalist acquired his own microscope, he deepened in the study of the surrounding world. Among the achievements of Antoni - the opening of red blood cells, the structure of the eyes of insects and many types of simplest and bacteria. After he shared observations with the Reinir de Graf doctor, he insisted on the publication of work. In subsequent years, the works of Levenguka were regularly appeared in the magazine of the Royal Community London.
The results of studies of naturalist issued in the form of letters that sent a scientific society. He always wrote in his native Dutch and refused to go to Latin. Messages translated Henry Hendenburg, who learned the language of Anthony specifically for this purpose. The biologist's work enjoyed high demand among scientists and received predominantly laudatory reviews.
However, after Van Levenguk began to study microorganisms, his relationship with the royal community was spoiled. The results of the works of the designer of the newest microscopes were questioned, since no one could achieve the same increase and verify the truthfulness of information. Only after the representatives of the scientific society visited a man in Delft and confirmed the clarity of his mind, the research was recognized with reliable.
In 1680, the royal community made a biologist with their honorary member. Despite the good relations with London scientists, the man did not want to disclose the secret of creating his microscopes. He willingly accepted guests in his house, among which Peter I and Gotfried Wilhelm Leibniz, but refused to help, working alone. It was associated with concerns to be forgotten after the scientific company will receive the invention of naturalist.
Death
According to eyewitnesses, the biologist continued to work even on his deathbed, trying to dictate his feelings to the secretary. He died on August 26, 1723, the cause of death was the disease, which was eventually named after a scientist due to atypical symptoms.In memory of the naturalist, its research and 9 microscopes are preserved. In his honor, they called an oncological hospital in Amsterdam. Also, according to the results of the survey of 2004, a man was recognized as the fourth of the greatest Dutch in the entire history.
Discoveries
- 1674 - Infusoria and Protos
- 1674 - Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes)
- 1675 - decomposition of eggs of lice, opening of embryonic lice
- 1677 - Spermatozoa
- 1682 - Striped drawing on muscle fibers.
- 1694 - Description of the facet of dragonfly.