|
What you will find here
|
Featuring
|
 |
Biography
The life of Antony van Leeuwenhoek, cloth merchant and civil servant, citizen of Delft. Portraits of him. His homes and his legacy as well as a timeline of events in his life.
|
The Leeuwenhoek name: How to pronounce it
Where Leeuwenhoek's biographers say he lived
|
 |
Chronology
Almost a thousand documented events in the history of Delft and the life of Leeuwenhoek and his family, starting in 1246.
|
On September 30, 1676, he was appointed curator of the estate of Vermeer's widow
A week later, he wrote the letter that made him famous
|
 |
Family
Over a hundred close relatives of Leeuwenhoek. Timelines of the documented facts about their lives and property holdings. Featuring the half dozen most influential women in his life. Grouped by family: Leeuwenhoek, de Meij, Swalmius, de Molijn, van den Berch, and Hogenhouck.
|
How prosperous was his family?
His daughter Maria
|
 |
Civic career
Leeuwenhoek's education and training. How he supported his family as a merchant, City Court official, and City inspector of liquid imports and exports.
|
Public Service of Leeuwenhoek, his family, and his neighbors and colleagues
Were his jobs sinecures?
|
 |
Scientific career
A brief accounting of some of the aspects of Leeuwenhoek's science, his lenses and people who influenced him, other microscopists, philosophers, and members of the Royal Society.
|
How he constructed his microscopes
His cabinet of wonders
|
 |
Letters
Leeuwenhoek wrote only letters, hundreds of them, including 285 with scientific observations. These 285 letters, his complete scientific output, are our only direct access to his work and ideas. Divided into seven periods according to how he self-published them. How to find your way among the various editions and translations.
|
How many letters did Leeuwenhoek write?
Why did Leeuwenhoek publish his own letters?
|
 |
Delft in Holland
Life in the heart of the world's most prosperous and learned country. Views and maps, timelines of Delft's history. How Delft was governed and Leeuwenhoek's role in it. The buildings in his neighborhood. His contemporaries. The property in and around Delft owned by Leeuwenhoek and members of his family. Life in Leeuwenhoek's Holland through the eyes of its painters.
|
How prominent was his family?
Leeuwenhoek served as his neighborhood's trash supervisor
|