While it's impossible to pinpoint a single inventor, Zacharias Janssen is generally credited with creating the first compound microscope around 1590.

However, there's debate surrounding the true inventor, as:

* Hans Lippershey, a Dutch spectacle maker, filed a patent for a telescope in 1608, which suggests he might have been working on similar magnifying instruments.

* Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutch inventor, was also known to have built microscopes around the same time.

It's likely that the invention of the microscope was a collaborative effort, with multiple individuals contributing to its development.