Gregor Mendel

Essay by pudortuCollege, UndergraduateA+, March 2006

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Often called the "Father of Modern Genetics", Gregor Mendel gains his fame as the man who discovered the basic principles of heredity. Even though his research with pea plants was revolutionary, it was so ingenious and unparalleled at the time that it was disregarded. It took 34 years for the scientific community to even realize what he had done and the tremendous importance of his discoveries (Gasking). He was a dedicated researcher who spent every spare hour in the study of natural sciences. In the course of a few years at his quiet and humble monastery, he made breakthroughs that now rest as the centerpiece of one of the most important and latest of today's sciences - heredity.

Mendel was born in 1822 in the small town of Heinzendorf (Edelson, 19). His parents, Anton and Rosin Mendel, were both farmers so money was never plentiful in his household. His father scraped enough money together to send his son to school in Hyncice. One of the principles by which his school was run was that "money and property can be taken from me, but never the art of scientific knowledge." (Edelson, 23)The teachers noticed that young Gregor was unusually intelligent and arranged for him to attend a school at Lipnik which was about 16 miles from his home. His parents were having financial troubles at home so he decided to become a teacher. This way, he could tutor people and make money while still continuing his education. Mendel graduated from the Gymnasium, the rough equivalent of an American high school, at the age of 18 (Edelson, 23).

He wanted to continue his education, but ran into more financial troubles. No one wanted his tutoring so he could not earn the money he needed for school. In 1941, he enrolled in...