Who was the first person to identify human sperm?

Explanation

Anton van Leeuwenhoek was the pioneer who first observed human sperm in 1678. Initially, he thought sperm were tiny parasitic animals living in semen and named them spermatozoa, meaning 'sperm animals.' He believed sperm had no role in reproduction and later hypothesized that each sperm contained a fully formed embryo. Despite his extensive studies, he never found such embryos inside sperm cells. Another early researcher, Nicolas Hartsoeker, imagined seeing a tiny human (homunculus) inside sperm. Modern science has since confirmed that sperm are essential for human reproduction.