Gregor Mendel

Gregor Johann Mendel (July 22, 1822 – January 6, 1884) was an Austrian monk who is often called the "father of genetics" for his study of the inheritance of traits in pea plants.Mendel showed that there was particulate inheritance of traits according to his laws of inheritance. However, nobody (including Mendel) realised the significance of his work and it was largely ignored until the turn of the 20th century. Its rediscovery prompted the foundation of genetics.

Biography

Mendel was born July 22, 1822 in to a German-speaking family of Heinzendorf, Moravia, Austrian Empire (now Hyn?ice (part of Vra?né), district of Nový Ji?ín, Czech Republic). During his childhood Mendel worked as a gardener, and as a young man attended the Philosophical Institute in Olomouc. In 1843 he entered the Augustinian Abbey of St. Thomas in Brno. Born Johann Mendel, he took the name Gregor upon entering monastic life. In 1847 he was ordained as a priest. In 1851 he was sent to the University of Vienna to study, returning to his abbey in 1853 as a teacher, principally of physics. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10180b.htm

Related Topics:
July 22 - 1822 - Heinzendorf - Moravia - Austrian Empire - Czech Republic - Philosophical Institute - Olomouc - 1843 - Augustinian - Abbey - St. Thomas - Brno - 1847 - Ordained - Priest - 1851 - University of Vienna - 1853 - Physics

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gregor Mendel was inspired by both his professors at university and his colleagues at the monastery to study variation in plants. He commenced his study in his monastery's experimental garden. Between 1856 and 1863 Mendel cultivated and tested some 28,000 pea plants. His experiments brought forth two generalizations which later became known as Mendel's Laws of Inheritance.

Related Topics:
1856 - 1863 - Pea - Mendel's Laws of Inheritance

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mendel's attraction to research was based on his love of nature. He was not only interested in plants, but also in meteorology and theories of evolution. Mendel often wondered how plants obtained atypical characteristics. On one of his frequent walks around the monastery, he found an atypical variety of an ornamental plant. He took it and planted it next to the typical variety. He grew their progeny side by side to see if there would be any approximation of the traits passed on to the next generation. This experiment was "designed to support or to illustrate Lamarck's views concerning the influence of environment upon plants." He found that the plants' respective offspring retained the essential traits of the parents, and therefore were not influenced by the environment. This simple test gave birth to the idea of heredity.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mendel read his paper, Experiments on Plant Hybridization, at two meetings of the Natural History Society of Brunn in Bohemia in 1865. When Mendel's paper was published in 1866 in Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Brunn, it had little impact, and was cited about three times over the next thirty-five years.

Related Topics:
Experiments on Plant Hybridization - Natural History Society of Brunn in Bohemia - 1865 - 1866 - Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Brunn

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Elevated as abbot in 1868, his scientific work largely ended as Mendel became consumed with his increased administrative responsibilities, especially a dispute with the civil government over their attempt to impose special taxes on religious institutions. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10180b.htm

Related Topics:
Abbot - 1868

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mendel died on January 6, 1884 in Brno, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic), from chronic nephritis.

Related Topics:
January 6 - 1884 - Brno - Austria-Hungary - Czech Republic - Nephritis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~