Egg and Photo Illustration (IMAGE) Marine Biological Laboratory Caption Egg and sperm photo illustration. The sperm drawings are from an article by Antoine van Leeuwenhoek, who built the first microscope and discovered sperm, published in Philosophical Transactions 1678. Credit René Pascal of Caesar, Bonn Usage Restrictions Please use with proper credit. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.