2. Gregor Johann Mendel
(1822-1884)

An Augustinian monk and physics teacher in Austria is called the
father of modern genetics. Mendel was born in a German-speaking 
family in Heinzendorf, Austrian Silesia, Austrian Empire. He spent
seven years crossing pea plants and recording the traits of each 
generation of offspring, to formulate the laws of inheritance.
Though he presented his paper "Experiments in Plant Hybridization"
in 1856, it was largely ignored for many years. Only in 1900 was it
brought to light by scientists such as Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns
who realized its importance.