1655: In an investigation by Willem Boreel, Dutch spectacle-maker Johannes Zachariassen claims his father, Zacharias Janssen, invented the compound microscope in 1590.

Nov 17, 2025 · The First Microscopes c. 1590: A Dutch spectacle maker named Zacharias Janssen is widely credited with inventing the very first compound microscope in the 1590s, but that claim has its...

In the late 16th century several Dutch lens makers designed devices that magnified objects, but in 1609 Galileo Galilei perfected the first device known as a microscope.

Every major field of science has benefited from the use of some form of microscope, an invention that dates back to the late 16th century and a modest Dutch eyeglass maker named Zacharias Janssen.

Nov 28, 2025 · The traditional simple microscope was made with a single magnifying lens, which was often of sufficient optical quality to allow the study of microscopical organisms including Hydra and …

Nov 23, 2023 · Attributed to the invention of the microscope are two Dutch spectacle craftsmen, Zacharias Jansen and his father Hans. In the waning years of the 16th century, their hands gave …

Electron Microscopes: In 1931 Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska invented the first electron microscope that blasted past the optical limitations of the light. Physics dictates that light microscopes are limited by …