The single lens microscopes made by a Dutch amateur lens grinder Antonie van Leeuwenhoek were far superior to the early compound instruments. Van Leeuwenhoek, in about 1670. In about 1597 two Dutch eyeglass makers, Zaccharias Janssen and his son Hans were experimenting with lenses in a tube. They observed that nearby objects viewed through two lenses in line were magnified. Their device was the first compound microscope.
