Question

About when did the discovery/development of microscopes begin?

A) 18th century
B) 19th century
C) 17th century
D) 20th century

Answer 1

The development of microscopes began in the 17th century with figures like Antonie van Leeuwenhoek and the spectacle-makers Zacharias Janssen and his son Hans contributing to the advancement of microscopy.

Step-by-step explanation:

The discovery and development of microscopes began in the early 17th century. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch cloth merchant, was one of the early pioneers who significantly contributed to the field. In 1675, Leeuwenhoek developed a lens powerful enough to observe single-celled organisms, which he famously called "animalcules." This marked the beginning of using microscopy to study the microbial world. Additionally, the forerunner to the modern compound microscope is attributed to Dutch spectacle-makers Zacharias Janssen and his son Hans, who in the late 1500s or early 1600s found that several lenses placed in a tube could magnify objects. Therefore, the correct answer to when the development of microscopes began is C) 17th century.