2. father of genetics

3. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX Austria Italy Johann Mendel Germany Poland Austria Czech Republic was born in 1822 in Heinzendorf, Austria, to a peasant farming family.

4. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX During his early years, Do I LOOK like a farmer? He lay around in his bed “sick” for weeks, possibly to avoid farm chores. Johann did NOT like agriculture very much.

5. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX When Johann was 16, his father had a debilitating farming accident and Johann was forced to provide for himself.

6. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX When Johann was 18, he borrowed money from his younger sister’s dowry to pay for his education at the university for two years.

7. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX When he was 21, one of Johann’s teachers took note of his exceptionally bright mind and persuaded him to join the Augustinian monks. St.Thomas Church, (now Brno, Czechoslovakia)

8. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX After he arrived at St. Thomas, Johann Mendel changed his name to Brother Gregory. The monastery was a center of learning for young men who wanted to study theology and natural science.

9. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX Brother Gregory also spent time teaching mathematics at a nearby school. After one year, in order to become a teacher, he took the teacher’s examinations at the University of Vienna... and failed. Report Card F-

10. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX During his early years at the monastery, Mendel began studying and breeding mice. The bishop was not pleased.

11. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX Brother Gregor settled on bees...

12. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX and peas.

13. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX While at the monastery, Gregor continued his studies at the University of Vienna for several years. He became a “reserve” teacher for an ailing professor, teaching science at a local college while studying physics at the University of Vienna. University of Vienna

14. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX After many years at the university, Gregor retook the teacher’s exam, and failed for the second time. Report Card F- - -

15. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX Mendel narrowed his focus to one particular garden pea, Pisum sativm. In spite of these failures, Mendel continued to conduct numerous experiments on plants. For 8 years, Mendel experimented with over 28,000 peas in the large gardens attached to the monastery.

16. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX Rather than study every characteristic of the garden pea, Mendel narrowed his observations to 7 traits.

17. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX Garden Pea Traits Observed

18. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX Seed shape Seed color Pod shape Flower color Flower location Plant size smooth wrinkled yellow green inflated constricted green yellow Pod color purple white axial terminal tall short

19. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX In 1866 when Mendel was 44, his experimental results were published... and ignored long after he died.

20. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX In 1900, 3 scientists - Carl Correns, Hugo de Vries, and Erich von Tschermak - all independently rediscovered and verified Mendel's principles, marking the beginning of modern genetics. He is now considered the father of genetics.

21. © 2006 Plano ISD, Plano, TX Bibliography Windle, B.C.A. (1911). “Mendel, Mendelism.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol X. Robert Appleton Company. Available. [Online] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10180b.htm Hall, Mandy. (1911). “Johann Gregor Mendel.” Psychology History. Available. [Online] http://www.muskingum.edu/~psychology/psyweb/history/mendel.htm