This document provides a summary of the history and development of the microscope. It discusses how early Dutch lens makers invented the compound microscope in the 16th century and how Galileo and others later improved its design. It describes how Antony van Leeuwenhoek made additional improvements allowing up to 270x magnification and how he was the first to observe bacteria, blood cells, and other microorganisms. Later scientists like Robert Hooke used microscopes to observe plant and animal cells for the first time.