Gregor Mendel

Born: July 20, 1822; Heinzendorf bei Odrau, Austrian Empire
Died: January 6, 1884; Brno, Austro-Hungarian Empire
Fields of study: Genetics, evolutionary science
A Roman Catholic priest, Austrian scientist Mendel is noted for his work in heredity that began when he raised and hybridized peas in his monastery’s garden, keeping careful records of them over several generations. Through his experiments, he concluded that the fertilization of an egg involved only one male sex cell. Although his vision was failing, Mendel continued his research on hawkeyes, four o’clocks, and bees. He generally did not publish his findings, although his noted article, Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden (1856; Experiments with Plant Hybrids), was published as a pamphlet and later in William Bateson’s Mendel’s Principles of Heredity (1913).