Inventor of Modern Genetics, Botanist Mendel and his study of Peas and Inheritance.

A montage showing images from the life and work of Gregor Johann Mendel (1822-1884), a German-speaking Moravian botanist and the founder of genetics. Mendel carried out breeding experiments with pea plants which revealed the statistical laws of heredity. Though farmers had known for centuries 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. Although the significance of Mendel's work was not recognized until the turn of the 20th century, the independent rediscovery of these laws formed the foundation of the modern science of genetics. Mendel was an Augustinian friar and lived in a monastery. Music: Abdelazer, Z. 570 - II. Rondeau (piano arr) by Henry Purcell, performed by Philip Adler (Creative Commons/Attribution). © Wilson/Sutton /Science Source