Gregor Mendel was an Augustinian monk born in Austria. He discovered the laws of inheritance while experimenting with pea plants. Between 1857 and 1864, Mendel classified 40,000 flowers and nearly 400,000 seeds. Unaware of the existence of genes, he discovered that recessive (hidden) traits are inherited and can reappear in later generations. This discovery came to complement Darwin’s theory.

He also discovered that traits are inherited in pairs, one from the father and one from the mother. Which traits, maternal or paternal, pass on to the next generation is random, determined when sex cells are created. Mendel wrote to Darwin to share his discovery, but Darwin kept the letter in a box, unopened. The letter was only discovered after his death. One can only wonder what would have happened if Darwin had read Mendel’s letter.

Mendel demonstrated with experimentation what Darwin had imagined in theory.

It was not until the discovery of genes and DNA that Mendel’s brilliant research received the attention it deserved. He published his findings in an unknown review in 1865 by the Natural History Society of Brno (now part of the Czech Republic). His work was ignored by the scientific community and cited only four times between 1866 and 1900.