Gregor Mendel Google Doodle: founder of genetics 189th birthday marked

Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, has been celebrated in a Google Doodle to celebrate his 189th birthday

Image 1 of 2

Google's doodle celebrates the 189th birthday of Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics

By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor

11:42AM BST 20 Jul 2011

Gregor Mendel, the man credited with founding the science of genetics, has had his 189th birthday celebrated in the latest Google Doodle.

The illustration replacing Google's traditional logo on the search page used by millions of people around the world references Mendel's study of pea plants. His examination of their inherited traits went on to allow scientists to establish genetics as a discipline in its own right. Mendel's papers on his ideas were first published in 1865, but their significance was not realised until the early 20th century.

Clicking on the doodle results in a search for Gregor Mendel, and points to his Wikipedia entry. It identifies Mendel as "an Austrian Augustinian friar and scientist, who gained posthumous fame as the founder of the new science of genetics for his study of the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants. Mendel showed that the inheritance of these traits follows particular laws, which were later named after him. The significance of Mendel's work was not recognized until the turn of the 20th century. The independent rediscovery of these laws formed the foundation of the modern science of genetics."

The previous Google Doodle was on Sir George Gilbert Scott, celebrating what he considered to be his most successful project, the St Pancras Midland Grand hotel.

The hotel opened in 1873 after Sir George won a competition by Midland Railways Company to design a hotel next to its London railway station. The building incorporated innovative features such as lifts and revolving doors but had no running water to its rooms, leaving guests to use communal bathrooms.

Sphere: Related Content