The document discusses the history of cell discovery. Robert Hooke first observed cells in 1665 using a microscope to examine cork. Later, Robert Brown discovered the nucleus in 1833. In 1838, Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann discovered that plants and animals respectively are composed of cells. In 1855, Rudolf Virchow proposed that all cells come from preexisting cells, debunking the theory of spontaneous generation. The combined work of these scientists formed the Cell Theory, which states that all living things are composed of cells, cells are the basic unit of life, and all cells come from preexisting cells.