Do we owe Mendelian genetics to a failed examination?
Section 12.7 presents some background information about Mendel. In 1850, he failed an examination for teacher certification. He then enrolled in University courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. The training he received in mathematics almost certainly set the stage for mathematical interpretation of his data, which was unusual in biology at the time. Was Mendel too far ahead of his time? Mendel’s studies were presented in meetings in 1865 and published in 1866. However, for a variety of reasons, including the popularity of the blending theory and Mendel’s heavy reliance on mathematical calculations, which was unusual in the biology of that time period, they remained essentially unknown and unappreciated until about 1900, when the principles of inheritance and Mendel’s earlier work were rediscovered. By the time of the rediscovery of Mendel’s work, the behaviour of chromosomes in meiosis and their probable role as carriers of heredity were beginning to be reasonably we
