Gregor MendelBorn 22 Jul 1822; died 6 Jan 1884 at age 61. Gregor Johann Mendel was an Austrian botanist, geneticist and monk who pioneered in the study of heredity. He spent his adult life with the Augustinian monastery in Brunn, where as a geneticist, botanist and plant experimenter, he was the first to lay the mathematical foundation of the science of genetics, in what came to be called Mendelism. Over the period 1856-63, Mendel grew and analyzed over 28,000 pea plants. He carefully studied for each their plant height, pod shape, pod color, flower position, seed color, seed shape and flower color. He made two very important generalizations from his pea experiments, known today as the Laws of Heredity. He read a paper on his studies on 8 Feb 1865 to the Brünn Society for Natural Sciences in Moravia. It was unappreciated until 1900. Mendel coined the present day terms in genetics: recessiveness and dominance.«[Original name (until 1843) Johann Mendel.] |
