Who is known as the father of genetics?

• A. Charles Darwin
• B. Gregor Mendel
• C. Louis Pasteur
• D. Carl Linnaeus

Answer: (B)

Gregor Mendel is known as the father of genetics because his careful pea-plant experiments showed how traits are inherited in discrete units. By crossing plants with contrasting traits and counting thousands of offspring, he found consistent patterns that traits come in pairs and that these units separate during reproduction. This led to the laws of segregation and independent assortment, the fundamental rules describing how heredity works. His work established the predictable framework for inheritance, long before the molecular nature of genes was known. The other scientists listed contributed in different areas—Darwin with natural selection, Pasteur with germ theory, Linnaeus with taxonomy—but Mendel’s experiments uniquely laid the groundwork for genetics.