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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Translation of a letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Robert Hooke, dated at Delft

Reference number: EL/L1/63

Date: 01 January 1680

Description

Observing the lees in wine; experiments with fermenting wine; comparing the structure of yeast cells with erythrocytes (red blood cells); examining yeast in syrups from an apothecary's shop; observing particles in rain-water; an analysis of chyle from a cow, fat globules in milk, composition of urine; examining particles in air; discusses the function of the heart and the circulation of blood in the body; observations of the tracheae of a fly, a flea, and a cockroach; observations of the copulation of cockchafers and of dragonflies, the spermatozoids of the grass-hopper, the gnat, the flea, and of the fly; examination of mites; calculating the number of micro-organisms in a grain of sand
Translation of EL/L1/62

Reference number
EL/L1/63
Earliest possible date
01 January 1680
Page extent
12 pages
Format
Manuscript
Also available on Early Modern Letters Online
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Creator names

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

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Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

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Citation

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Translation of a letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Robert Hooke, dated at Delft, 01 January 1680, EL/L1/63, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/el_l1_63/translation-of-a-letter-from-antoni-van-leeuwenhoek-to-robert-hooke-dated-at-delft, accessed on 14 November 2025

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/el_l1_63/translation-of-a-letter-from-antoni-van-leeuwenhoek-to-robert-hooke-dated-at-delft

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  • Early Letters

    The archival collection known as 'Early Letters' is composed of original manuscript letters sent to, or collected by, the Royal Society from English and foreign correspondents.

    Dates: 1613 - 1740

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