Ernst Haeckel
German biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician and artist
Gregor Mendel
Silesian scientist and Augustinian friar (1822-1884)
Gregor Mendel, an Austrian-Czech biologist, is known as the founder of modern genetics. Through his experiments with pea plants, he discovered the laws of inheritance, including the concepts of dominant and recessive traits. His groundbreaking work, published in 1866, laid the foundation for our understanding of how genes and heredity work, even though it was not fully recognized until decades later.
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About the Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel OSAwas an Austrian-Czech biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas’ Abbey in Brnoand gained posthumous recognition as the founder of the modern science of genetics. Though farmers had known for millennia that crossbreeding of animals and plants could favor certain desirable traits, Mendel’s pea plant experiments conducted between 1856 and 1863 established many of the rules of heredity, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance.
Mendel worked with seven characteristics of pea plants: plant height, pod shape and color, seed shape and color, and flower position and color. Taking seed color as an example, Mendel showed that when a true-breeding yellow pea and a true-breeding green pea were cross-bred, their offspring always produced yellow seeds. However, in the next generation, the green peas reappeared at a ratio of 1 green to 3 yellow. To explain this phenomenon, Mendel coined the terms “recessive” and “dominant” in reference to certain traits. In the preceding example, the green trait, which seems to have vanished in the first filial generation, is recessive, and the yellow is dominant. He published his work in 1866, demonstrating the actions of invisible “factors”–now called genes–in predictably determining the traits of an organism.
The profound significance of Mendel’s work was not recognized until the turn of the 20th centurywith the rediscovery of his laws. Erich von Tschermak, Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns independently verified several of Mendel’s experimental findings in 1900, ushering in the modern age of genetics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gregor Mendel was an Austrian-Czech biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, and Augustinian friar who is known as the founder of the modern science of genetics.
Gregor Mendel’s pea plant experiments, conducted between 1856 and 1863, established many of the rules of heredity, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance.
Gregor Mendel worked with seven characteristics of pea plants: plant height, pod shape and color, seed shape and color, and flower position and color.
Gregor Mendel coined the terms ,recessive, and ,dominant, to explain the phenomenon where certain traits, like the green color in pea plants, seemed to disappear in the first generation but reappeared in the next.
The profound significance of Gregor Mendel’s work was not recognized until the turn of the 20th century, more than three decades after he published his findings in 1866.
Erich von Tschermak, Hugo de Vries, and Carl Correns independently verified several of Gregor Mendel’s experimental findings in 1900, ushering in the modern age of genetics.
Gregor Mendel was an Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas’ Abbey in Brno, Margraviate of Moravia.
2 Quotes by Gregor Mendel
- 1.
The value and utility of any experiment are determined by the fitness of the material to the purpose for which it is used, and thus in the case before us it cannot be immaterial what plants are subjected to experiment and in what manner such experiment is conducted.
Gregor MendelSilesian scientist and Augustinian friar (1822-1884)
- 2.
My scientific studies have afforded me great gratification; and I am convinced that it will not be long before the whole world acknowledges the results of my work.
Gregor MendelSilesian scientist and Augustinian friar (1822-1884)