Wrote Letter L-040 of 1676年10月09日 to Henry Oldenburg about little animals in various waters and spice infusions, the relationship of their shape to taste, and whether there were little animals in the air

Date:
October 9, 1676
Standard reference information
L-number:
L-040
Leeuwenhoek's number:
18
Collected Letters number:
26
Collected Letters volume:
2

Text of the letter in the original Dutch and in English translation from Alle de Brieven / The Collected Letters at the DBNL - De Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren

The original manuscript on 18 folio pages, written by a copyist and signed by Leeuwenhoek, is preserved at the Royal Society (MS. 1851. Early Letters L1.22). On the last page of text, Oldenburg wrote, "receu le 9. Octob. st. v. 1676. / Resp. le 16. Oct. d'avoir / receu cette lettre, par / M. Leibnitz, mais non pas / encor considere." Oldenburg's English translation is Early Letters L1.23.

An excerpt was published in Philosophical Transactions, vol. 12, no. 133, dated 25 March 1677. See Publication history below.

Leeuwenhoek wrote this letter to Henry Oldenburg about

  • his discovery of five different micro-organisms - one possibly bacteria - in pepper-infused water
  • his experiments with rain-, well-, moat-, sea-, and river-water, and infusions of various spices
  • an account of the structure of a peppercorn, wheat, ginger; whether or not there are organisms in the air.

This is Leeuwenhoek's most famous letter, the one that made his name known world-wide. The bulk of Dobell's "Little Animals" is devoted to a translation and annotation of it.

He began it by noting that he had not received a reply to his two previous letters. The rest of the letter is 145 observations of 19 different series of liquids, about half of them infused with various spices.

Other than the observation from the previous September, they were all conducted from mid-April to the end of September, 1676. Some of the observations were one-time only. Many series lasted for a month or two. The longest spanned 18 weeks. With such a quantity of data, how should he organize it?

A month later, Leeuwenhoek wrote to Constantijn Huygens (AB/CL 28), enclosing a copy of much of this letter of October 9:

I have couched my observations in the form of a journal, merely that they be better credited in England and elsewhere, the more so because the Secretary, Mr. Oldenburg, wrote to tell me some time ago that there actually are learned gentlemen in Paris and elsewhere who do not believe what I saw.

The letter was written in a hand other than his, probably from his notes. It would take hours to make a fair copy of such a long letter, and Leeuwenhoek was suddenly busy with managing Vermeer's estate. That appointment as curator at the end of September may well have been what caused him to stop his series of observations and give his notes to a copyist.

Reception in London

It took the Royal Society some time to translate this letter, read and discuss it over three separate weekly meetings, and finally print about the first third of it in Philosophical Transactions five months after Oldenburg received it. Even in this abbreviated form, it caused a lot of discussion.

Specimens and methods

The observations are listed here in the order in which Leeuwenhoek discussed them in the letter. Note Letter 25 [17] of 28 July 1676 to Robert Boyle. It gives a day-by-day account of a parallel series of observations during May, June, and July of 1676 of sal amoniac in a glass tube of Leeuwenhoek's own making, replicating Boyle's observations in Philosophical Transactions no. 120.

Rain Water

observations infusion preparation start end duration
1 Rain 1 rain standing few days in tub Sept 15
2 Rain 2 rain off slate roof in leaden gutters in glass May 26
3 - 5 Rain 3 May 26 May 31 5 days
6 - 12 Rain 4 June 9 June 16 1 week
13 - 19 Rain 5 June 9 June 16 1 week
20, 21 Rain 6 June 17 June 26 9 days

What he saw in rain water.

River, Well, and Sea Water

observations infusion preparation start end duration
22 River summer
23 Well 1675 1676 indeterminate
24 Well July
25 - 30 Sea July 27 August 8 12 days

What he saw in these waters.

Pepper Water

observations infusion preparation start end duration
31 Pepper 1 3 oz whole pepper in snow water April 24 3 weeks
32 - 50 Pepper 2 1⁄2 oz whole pepper in 2 1⁄2 oz snow water in porcelain teacup April 26 June 1 5 weeks
51 - 60 Pepper 3 1/3 oz whole pepper pounded in teacup with 2 1⁄2 oz rainwater, added water from Pepper 2 May 26 June 12 3 weeks
61 - 63 Pepper 4 certain quantity of whole pepper in well water June 14 July 20 5 weeks
64 - 93 Pepper 5 a quantity of coarsely ground pepper in well water that already had bacteria in it August 2 Sept 19 7 weeks

What he saw in pepper water.

Spiced Water

observations infusion preparation start end duration
94, 95 Vinegar n.d. 2 weeks
96 - 106 Ginger bruised ginger pieces in snow water in tea cup May 6 June 12 5 weeks
107 - 127 Clove 36 cloves in 21 oz rain water with no animals May 17 Sept 19 18 weeks
128 - 145 Nutmeg pieces of beaten nutmegs in 2? oz well water with only a few extraordinay small creatures July 13 Sept 7 8 weeks

What he saw in spiced water.

Figures

Figures

Leeuwenhoek drew four figures (particles of pepper grain and in ginger-water) in the margin of this letter. They were not reproduced in Philosophical Transactions and Leeuwenhoek did not publish this letter himself.

Publication history
Related sources, especially Philosophical Transactions, and first editions only of Leeuwenhoek's volumes of letters. For later editions see Related events under Learn more.
Year Author Title
1665 various Journal des Sçavans
1665 various Philosophical Transactions
1677 Leeuwenhoek, A. van Observations, Communicated to the Publisher by Mr. Antony van Leewenhoeck in a Dutch Letter of the 9th Oct. 1676. Here English'd: concerning Little Animals by Him Observed in Rain-Well-Sea. and Snow Water; as Also in Water Wherein Pepper Had Lain Infused
1754 - 1787 Berryat, J. (ed.) Collection académique
1779 - 1780 Leske, N. G. Abhandlungen zur Naturgeschichte, Physik und Oekonomie
1932 Dobell, C. Antony van Leeuwenhoek and his "little animals"
1937 Cohen, B. On Leeuwenhoek's Method of Seeing Bacteria
1937 Cohen, B. The Leeuwenhoek letter
1941 Leeuwenhoek, A. van Alle de Brieven. The Collected Letters. Volume 2
2015 Falkowski, P. Leeuwenhoek's Lucky Break
2015 Lane, N. The unseen world
2016 Egmond, W. van The riddle of the 'green streaks'
Notes

The version in Philosophical Transactions is condensed and excerpted. It included no figs, but there were four with the manuscript.

Dobel almost completely translated it in 1932. Cohen completely translated it in 1937.

Learn more
Related events:
Date Event
August 1, 1674 First observed little animals in water
September 15, 1675 First observed little animals in rain water
April 24, 1676 Began series of experiments to observe little animals in spice infusions
April 26, 1676 Began Pepper 2 experiment
July 1, 1676 Visited by Christiaan Huygens during the summer; he saw the little animals in Leeuwenhoek's infusions
September 30, 1676 Appointed curator of estate of Catherine Bolnes, Vermeer's widow
October 26, 1676 Henry Oldenburg wrote Letter L-042 to Leeuwenhoek acknowledging receipt of the letter of 1676年10月09日
November 18, 1676 Visited by Gottfried Leibniz
January 26, 1677 Constantijn Huygens wrote to Oldenburg about Leeuwenhoek, a "painstaking man" who should be "cherished"
February 11, 1677 The Royal Society read the first part of Leeuwenhoek's long Letter L-040 of the previous 9 October about little animals in various waters
February 18, 1677 The Royal Society read the second part of Leeuwenhoek's long letter of 9 October 1676
February 22, 1677 Henry Oldenburg wrote Letter L-052 to Leeuwenhoek for more details about his method for observing little animals
March 8, 1677 The Royal Society read the third part of Leeuwenhoek's long letter of 9 October 1676
March 25, 1677 The Royal Society published part of Leeuwenhoek's Letter L-040 of 9 October 1676 reporting little animals in infusions
February 11, 1678 Robert Hooke wrote Letter L-068 to Leeuwenhoek about how he verified Leeuwenhoek’s observations of little animals in a pepper infusion
February 28, 1678 Christiaan Huygens began a series of observations of little animals replicating and expanding on Leeuwenhoek's
July 22, 1692 Christiaan Huygens began second series of observations of little animals replicating and expanding on Leeuwenhoek's

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