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Leeuwenhoek was born in Delft on October 1632. His father was a basket-maker, while his mother's family were brewers. Antony was educated as a child in a school in the town of Warmond, then lived with his uncle at Benthuizen; in 1648 he was apprenticed in a linen-draper's shop. Around 1654 he returned to Delft, where he spent the rest of his life.