The microscope opened our eyes to a previously unseen world. Several sites with biographical information about Antony van Leeuwenhoek, a pioneer in biological microscopy. UC Berkeley also has a short biographical page on Robert Hooke , who's book Micrographia is a classic in biological microscopy. The page is called Journey into the Cell . For electron microscopy there's Bernie C Breton's The Early History and Development of The Scanning Electron Microscope .
Old microscopes evidence a kind of beauty that comes from the craftsmanship of their makers.
Here are some interesting sites that keep the physics to a manageable level. This excellent site is the work of Caroline Schooley, a retired microscopist, and includes an extensive bibliography . There are companion exercises to the book at the Minnesota Microscopy Society and at Cornell University .