Gregor Mendel - Genetics

Biography: Gregor Johann Mendel was born in 1822, the second child to Anton Mendel, a peasant farmer, and Rosine Mendel, the daughter of a local gardener. This meant that he had a background in horticulture, which would help him in the future with his experiments. At school Mendel did well and his brilliant performance encouraged his family to support his pursuit of a higher education, but their resources were limited, so Mendel entered an Augustinian monastery …

…offspring of the same parents receive different sets of hereditary factors. Mendel's work became the foundation for modern genetics. Explanation: I believe that Mendel's ideas and theories were ignored for so long because his work was well 'before his time', meaning that investigations and experiments like he was doing were not a common during or for a long time after his lifetime. It wasn't until many many years later that his theories were finally recognised.