He was an English scientist who used an early compound microscope to examine thin slices of cork. He observed small, box-like compartments that reminded him of the cells in a monastery, so he named them "cells".

However, it's important to note that Hooke didn't actually see living cells, just the empty cell walls of dead plant cells. The discovery of living cells came later, thanks to the work of other scientists like Antonie van Leeuwenhoek.