who discovered cells

Cells were discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665. Hooke was the first scientist to observe and describe cells systematically when he looked at a thin slice of cork under his microscope. He coined the term "cells" because the tiny box- like structures he saw reminded him of small rooms, or "cellulae" in Latin. However, what Hooke actually saw were the cell walls of dead plant tissue. Shortly after Hooke, Anton van Leeuwenhoek made important discoveries by observing living cells, including bacteria and protozoa, using more powerful microscopes.