The cell was discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665.

He observed cells for the first time using a microscope he had built. Hooke was examining a thin slice of cork and noticed that it was made up of tiny, box-like compartments, which he named "cells" because they reminded him of the cells inhabited by monks in a monastery.

While Hooke is credited with the discovery of cells, it is important to note that he only observed the cell walls of dead plant cells. It was later scientists, such as Anton van Leeuwenhoek, who observed living cells in greater detail.