Birth:
July 22, 1822, Heizendorf, then Austrian Silesia
Death:
January 6, 1884, Austria
Early Influences:
- Grew up on an orchard and farm.
Education:
- Studied for two years at the Philosophical Institute at Olmutz Czechslovakia
- Entered an Augustinian monastery in 1843
- Studied physics, chemistry, mathematics, zoology and botany at the University of Vienna from 1851-53
Major Accomplishments:
- Ordained as a priest in 1847
- Elected abbot of his monastery in 1868
- Presented his findings on heredity to the Natural Science Society in 1865
- Published his finding in 1866 entitled "Versuche uber Pflanzenhybriden"
Significance:
- Discovered the first laws of heredity
- Laid the foundation for modern genetics
- Was a well-loved monk and abbot who only became famous after his death
Contemporaries:
- Herman Melville - American author
- Abraham Lincoln - 16th President of the United States of America
- Edmond Halley - Astronomer and Mathematician
- Henrik Ibsen - Norweigian Poet and Dramatist
