In 1676, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the father of microscopy, was the first person in history to see bacteria. The following year, he saw his own sperm,308 and a year after that, in 1678, he discovered tiny crystals forming in the semen he had left sitting around.309 Centuries later, this compound would be recognized as spermine. It and its precursor spermidine are actually found throughout the body, so their names are just an accident of history. It was independently discovered in brain tissue in 1885 and named “neuridine,” but when it was revealed to be the same as spermine, naming rights
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