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Definition

noun

Augustinian monk and botanist who formulated the laws of heredity based on his careful breeding experiments on garden pea plants. Later, he was recognized for his seminal works on genetics. For this, he has become the father of genetics.

Supplement

Gregor Johann Mendel was a monk in St. Thomas Monastery in Brünn, Austria. His skills in mathematics were unparalleled during his time. With his skills and devotion (not only to his religion but also in science), he was able to notice predictable pattern of variations in the traits of garden pea plants thriving by the monastery through his cross breeding experiments. For one, it was he who found the occurrence of unit factors being passed on from generation to generation, and these unit factors occur in pairs where one is dominant and the other is recessive. His works were not widely accepted in his time. It was only years after his death that his works were rediscovered and widely accepted. His works founded the Mendelian laws that attempts to explain heredity. Because of his seminal contributions, he was duly recognized as the father of genetics.

Related term(s):

• Mendel's Law of Heredity
• Mendelian trait
• Mendelian inheritance

See also:

• Law of Unit Characters
• Law of Segregation
• Law of Independent Assortment