2. The Cell Theory: A Brief history The discovery of cells followed from the invention of the microscope In 1665. Robert Hooke saw a network of tiny boxlike compartments that reminded him of a honeycomb. He called these little compartments“ cellulae”,a Latin term meaning little room. It K is from this word we get our present-day term, cell. The microscope used by Robert Hooke and the honeycomb-like network of“cel” he drawed in16652. The Cell Theory: A Brief History In 1665, Robert Hooke saw a network of tiny boxlike compartments that reminded him of a honeycomb. He called these little compartments “cellulae”, a Latin term meaning little room. It is from this word we get our present-day term, cell. The microscope used by Robert Hooke and the honeycomb-like network of “cell” he drawed in 1665 The discovery of cells followed from the invention of the microscope