Gregor Mendel Botanist and religious leader Date of Birth: 22.07.1822 Country: Austria

Biography of Gregor Mendel

Gregor Mendel was a botanist, scientist, and religious figure. He was born as Johann Mendel in a peasant family of mixed German-Slavic origin in 1822 to Anton and Rosina Mendel. He grew up in relatively modest circumstances and had to support himself from a young age. After completing six years of grammar school in Troppau (now Opava) in 1840, Mendel enrolled in the philosophy classes at the University of Olmütz (now Olomouc) the following year.

However, due to financial difficulties in his family, Mendel decided to become a monk and joined the Augustinian monastery of St. Thomas in Brunn (now Brno) in October 1843. He changed his name to Gregor and found support and financial assistance for his continued education in the monastery. Mendel was ordained as a priest in 1847 and also studied at the Brunn Theological School for four years.

The monastery of St. Thomas was known for its scientific and cultural activities, including a rich library, a mineral collection, an experimental garden, and a herbarium. Mendel enjoyed teaching physics and mathematics at a school in the nearby town of Znaim, but failed the state examination to become a certified teacher. Recognizing his passion for knowledge and his intellectual abilities, the monastery sent him to the University of Vienna to further his education.

As an auditor, Mendel attended seminars and courses in mathematics and natural sciences, including a course by the renowned physicist Christian Doppler. His strong background in physics and mathematics would later assist him in formulating the laws of inheritance. After completing four semesters at the University of Vienna from 1851 to 1853, Mendel returned to Brunn and continued teaching as a physics and natural sciences teacher at a local school.

In 1856, Mendel began conducting extensive experiments on plant hybridization in the monastery garden, specifically focusing on carefully selected varieties of peas. He aimed to understand the patterns of inheritance of traits in hybrid offspring. After seven years of experimentation, Mendel presented his findings at two meetings of the Brunn Society of Naturalists in 1865. His work was published in the society's journal in 1866 under the title "Experiments on Plant Hybridization," laying the foundations of genetics as a separate scientific discipline.

Despite the publication of his groundbreaking paper, Mendel's work received only one favorable response from Karl von Nageli, a professor of botany in Munich. Nageli, who was also involved in hybridization, advised Mendel to repeat his experiments with different plant species. Mendel respectfully agreed, but his attempt to replicate his results with hawkweed, the plant Nageli had worked with, ended in failure. It was later discovered that hawkweed seeds formed parthenogenetically, without sexual reproduction. Other exceptions to Mendel's laws were also observed, but their explanations came much later.

Mendel's work was largely overlooked until 1900 when three botanists – Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns, and Erich von Tschermak-Seysenegg – independently rediscovered and confirmed his findings. This led to a sudden recognition of Mendel's work, and 1900 is considered the birth year of genetics. The delayed acceptance of Mendel's laws is not a paradox but rather a common occurrence in science. The understanding and appreciation of major discoveries often require personal knowledge, intuition, and an emotional connection, which can be challenging to convey to others.

In 1868, Mendel was elected abbot of the monastery and largely withdrew from scientific pursuits. His archive contains notes on meteorology, beekeeping, and linguistics. The monastery in Brno has now been transformed into the Mendel Museum, and a special journal called "Folia Mendeliana" is dedicated to his work.