Final answer:
Robert Hooke was the first to clearly identify and name individual cells in his 1665 publication Micrographia, which later led to the development of cell theory.
Step-by-step explanation:
The scientist who was the first to clearly identify and name individual cells was Robert Hooke. In his 1665 publication called Micrographia, Hooke described box-like structures he observed in cork tissue using a microscope, which he termed "cells", from the Latin word 'cella', meaning 'small room'. This discovery laid the foundation for modern cell theory, however, it was later in the 1670s that Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria and protozoa, expanding our understanding of microscopic life.