- Zustand: ** block of 3 with the inscription on the margin
- Jahr: 2012-04-04
Johann Gregor Mendel (20 July 1822, Hynčice - 6 January 1884, Brno) was a natural scientist of German origin, founder of genetics, and discoverer of the core laws of inheritance.
Johann attended the elementary school in Hynčice, and later the school in Lipník nad Bečvou run by the Piarists. He completed his high school education and received his diploma at the high school in Opava. He went on to study at the Faculty of Arts of the University in Olomouc in 1840-43 under Johann Karl Nestler, professor of natural history and agriculture, a leading scientist in animal and plant breeding; some authors believe that his research in sheep breeding influenced Mendel´s further work. Friedrich Franz was another professor at the University in Olomouc who made a strong impact on Mendel. As a student Mendel had to give private lessons to earn some money. In 1843, for financial reasons, and to fulfil his mother´s wish, he joined the Augustinian friars and entered the seminary run by St. Thomas monastery in Staré Brno under the adopted religious name of Gregor (friars normally use a religious name as their first name). Aged 28, Mendel, who worked as a supplement teacher of Greece, Latin, German, and mathematics at the high school in Znojmo, took teacher certification examinations in natural science and physics at the University in Vienna. He failed to pass the examinations, paradoxically because of his failure in natural science. In 1851-53 Mendel studied mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, and paleontology. Because of a sudden attack of a serious illness, he left his studies at the University in Vienna without passing the teacher examinations. Later he worked shortly as a supplement teacher of natural science and physics at the First German Realschule at Jánská street in Brno. As a student Mendel´s main interests were in physics, mathematics, and meteorology.
A substantial study of these disciplines helped him understand how important mathematics and statistics are for explaining natural processes. He later used this understanding in his experiments in peas. Mendel replaced Napp as abbot of the Augustinian monastery on the latter´s death, and in this office became an important person in Brno and Moravia in the then Austrian-Hungarian empire. He died as abbot on 6 January 1884, and is buried at the Central Cemetery in Brno. The funeral orchestra was conducted by Leoš Janáček, a native of the Lašsko region who was supported by the monastery during his studies in Brno.
