In 1665, Hooke was using a microscope to examine a thin slice of cork. He observed small, box-like compartments that reminded him of the cells in a monastery. He named these compartments "cells" because of their resemblance to these small rooms.
While Hooke was not the first to observe cells (Anton van Leeuwenhoek had already observed living cells in the 1670s), he was the first to use the term "cell" and to publish his observations in his book "Micrographia."
