No one would ever expect a Dutch textile merchant to be the first to discover some of the most abundant organisms in the world. Europe was in the midst of a scientific revolution as part of the Renaissance. New scientific discoveries were made during this time with the rise of scientists such as Galileo and Newton. Another prominent name in this revolution was Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. Leeuwenhoek first worked in a cloth shop in Delft, Holland in the mid-1600s. Leeuwenhoek used his microscope to observe almost anything he could think of to get a better understanding of what he was seeing. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek contributed to microbiology because he developed the first simple microscope, was the first to observe microorganisms and was a pioneer of anatomy. Leeuwenhoek's greatest skill was the grinding of lenses for the simple design of his microscope. Leeuwenhoek used money from government positions to which he was appointed to pursue his hobby of lens grinding. At that time, microscopes were compound microscopes, containing more than one lens, which distorted the image and had low resolution. The curve of the lens affects the intensity of the magnification, which means that higher magnification requires a higher curve. Leeuwenhoek achieved this with a smaller lens with a longer radius of curvature. The quality and resolution of its lenses were known as the best of the time. Using his lenses, Leeuwenhoek was able to develop powerful microscopes to observe specimens, such as small insects. Leeuwenhoek's microscope consisted of a biconvex lens positioned between two metal plates. A sequence of pins helped keep the specimen in place on the microscope. The liquid samples could not be observed because the pin could only remain dry or... in the center of the paper.... the discovery of bacterial cells in 1683 could disprove the theory. He demonstrated that male insects fertilize the egg then laid by the female, which proves that the creatures reproduce on their own, not through spontaneous generation. This changed the way people thought about biology and reproduction in the world. Leeuwenhoek's explanations of the insect body and reproduction represented enormous advances in microbiology. Leeuwenhoek's anatomy, microorganisms, and microscope were all used to further advance the science of microbiology. The first simple microscope set the standard for others to observe microorganisms. The discovery of microorganisms paved the way for a new study of different life forms. Observing the way the body worked changed the way the world originally saw it. Without the discoveries of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, microbiology would perhaps not even exist today.