In which specimen were cells first identified

The appropriate response is a cork. The cell was first found and named by Robert Hooke in 1665. He commented that it looked peculiarly like cells or little rooms which friars occupied, in this way determining the name. However what Hooke really observed was the dead cell dividers of plant cells (cork) as it showed up under the magnifying lens.

Cells were first identified by Robert Hooke in cork, in the year 1665. He said that they looked quite similar to the cellula, contaned in the compartments. But, actually, they were dead cells of the cork. He used a microscope to observe these cells.