Even when it was found that minute

Even when it was found that minute forms of life too small to be seen with the naked eye swarmed throughout nature, in air, in water and soil, these tiny creatures were not at first connected with the causation of disease. The first to observe bacteria and other microscopic organisms was Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), the remarkable linen draper of Delft, who communicated his discovery to the Royal Society of London in his famous letter of Octobe9, 1676. He described the forms known today as cocci,bacilli, and spirilla, but a possible connection between his"little animals" and disease apparently did not occur to him.This is not surprising, for they were found by Leeuwenhoek in harmless vehicles, such as rain water, soil, and in healthy human excretions.