Gregor
Mendel was an Austrian Augustinian Monk whose
discoveries laid the foundation for the science of
genetics. He was born in Heinzendorf, which was
formerly a town in Austrian Siberia. Early in his life
he developed an interest in natural science. After two
years of study at the Philsophical Institute at Olmutz
(now Olomouc, a city of Czechoslovakia), he entered
the Augustrian Monastery at what is now Brno in
Czechoslovakia. He was ordained as a priest in 1847
and from 1849 he acted as a reserve teacher of Greek
and mathematics in Gymnasium of a small town near
Brno. In 1850 he took the examination for
certification as a regular teacher but failed with his
poorest grades in biology and geology.
He was sent by the Abbot of the Monastery to the
University of Vienna where he studied physics,
chemistry, zoology and botany (1851-53). In 1854 he
returned to Brno and taught natural science in the
technical high school until 1868. Visitors to Brno are
pointed out the school where he taught during this
period of his life.
The experiments with the pea for which he is famous
were conducted in a small garden adjacent to the
Monastery wall. This garden is now commemorated by a
marker stone, a monument to Mendel and the window of
the room in which he lived prior to becoming the Abbot
is likewise pointed out to visitors as well.
The library of both the monastery and school
contained essential scientific books, espeically in
agriculture, horticulture and botany. These subjects
were of great interest to Mendel because of his
experience on his father's farm which contained an
orchard. He was also much interested in bees and the
site of his aviary on the monastery property is still
pointed out to visitors. The library is still extant
and likewise is of much interest to visitors.
Mendel began his experiments before Davis' first
book was published. He reported his results to the
Natural Science Society on February 8 and March 8,
1865.
Mendel was responsible for the formulation of the
"essential requirements for its experimental study of
heredity and his provision of experimental data
satisfying these requirements" (Encyclopedia
Brittanica). His paper was published in detail in the
Transactions of the Natural Science Society in 1866
with the title Versuch uber Pflanzenhybriden. One of
the most outstanding botanists of Europe, K.W. von
Nageli, Professor of Botany of the University of
Munich failed to appreciate the implications of the
outstanding discoveries of Gregor Mendel with whom he
carried on considerable correspondence.
Although Mendel continued his interest in botany
and bee culture until his death, after his election as
Abbot of the Monastery in 1868 he was unable to spend
any time on further research. He died as a virtually
unknown man on January 6, 1884, much respected by all
who knew him but unknown as one of the great
biological scientists of the 19th Century.
Finally in 1900 three European botanists, K.E.
Correns, E. Tschermak von Seysenegg and Hugo de Vries
independently obtained similar results and found by
searching the literature that Mendel had published
similar data and presented the same general theories
34 years previously. At the 50th anniversary of the
"rediscovery" the Genetics Society of America in 1950
surveyed Mendel's influence in evolution,
biochemistry, medicine, agriculture, physiology, and
social science.
