Gregor Mendel

Gregor Johann Mendel was born on July 22, 1822 in Heinsendorf, Austria (which is in the present-day Czech Republic) to peasants ("Mendel, Gregor"). In 1843, Mendel entered the monastery of St. Thomas in Brunn, Austria (which is in the present-day Czech Republic) ("Mendel, Gregor Johann"). He then became a priest in 1847. Mendel was then sent to study science and mathematics at the University of Vienna in 1851 ("Mendel, Gregor"). He then returned back to the monastery in 1853 and taught biology and physics at a local high school which he did for the next 14 years ("Mendel, Gregor").

Between the years 1856 and 1863, Mendel grew at least 28,000 pea plants in the garden of the monastery ("Mendel, Gregor Johann"). While growing them he began to notice the laws of heredity. While working with the plants he studied seven different traits: plant height, seed color, seed shape, seed-coat color, pod shape, pod color, and flower distribution. In each of the traits he studied he compared two different expressions of the seeds, such as whether the seeds were tall or short. Based on the characteristics he would make crosses of the plants using artificial pollination. Using careful records Mendel studied the plants.

It was using this data that he came up with the foundation for modern-day genetics. Mendel concluded that traits were handed down through hereditary elements in the gametes of plants ("Mendel, Gregor Johann"). He reasoned that each plant received two of these hereditary elements, one from each parent. He concluded that the hereditary elements must either be dominant or recessive and that the dominant elements would be the traits seen.

Mendel also was able to summarize his findings into three theories. He first stated that during sperm or egg formation the alleles that code for a trait separate so that the egg or sperm only contains one allele or the other which was called the principle