The term cell was given by

Robert Hooke was an English scientist who first used the word cell in 1665. He looked at thin slices of cork under a microscope. The tiny boxes he saw reminded him of small rooms where monks lived, called cells.

Hooke did not know these boxes were once living parts of plants. He only saw the empty cell walls left behind. Later scientists discovered that cells are the building blocks of all living things.

Other scientists like Schwann and Schleiden developed cell theory later. They explained that all organisms are made of cells. But Robert Hooke gave us the name we still use today.