Why Gregor Mendel known as Father of Genetics?
Gregor Mendel is known as the Father of Genetics because he was the first scientist to discover the basic rules of inheritance — how traits are passed from one generation to the next.
Here’s why he earned that title:
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He Did Real Experiments In the 1850s and 60s, Mendel experimented with pea plants in a monastery garden. He carefully cross-pollinated plants and observed how traits like flower colour, seed shape, and plant height were inherited.
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He Discovered “Genes” (Without Knowing the Word) Mendel didn’t use the word “gene” (it wasn’t invented yet), but he figured out that traits are controlled by “factors” — which we now know are genes.
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He Found Patterns of Inheritance Mendel noticed that traits didn’t mix randomly. Instead, they followed specific rules. From this, he discovered the laws of inheritance:
Law of Segregation: Each parent passes only one of two “factors” for each trait.
Law of Independent Assortment: Traits are passed independently from one another.
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He Was Way Ahead of His Time His work was published in 1866 but was ignored for over 30 years. Scientists rediscovered it around 1900, and by then, it perfectly explained what they were seeing under microscopes.
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He Laid the Foundation of Modern Genetics Every student who studies biology learns Mendel’s experiments. His work is the foundation of genetics, used today in medicine, farming, DNA research, and more.
So even though he was just a monk growing peas in his garden, Gregor Mendel’s careful experiments and smart thinking created an entire field of science. That’s why he’s called the Father of Genetics.