Erich von Tschermak

Austrian geneticist (1871-1962)

Erich von Tschermak-Seysenegg (15 November 1871 – October 11 1962) was an Austrian botanist.

Von Tschermak is one of three men – the others were Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns – who were credited with independently rediscovering Gregor Mendel's work on genetics. Von Tschermak published his findings in June 1900.

By a quirk of history, Correns had been a student of Karl Wilhelm von Nägeli. Nageli was a renowned botanist with whom Mendel corresponded about his work with peas, but who failed to understand how significant Mendel's work was. Von Tschermak was a grandson of a man who taught Mendel botany during his student days in Vienna.

Reassessment

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Though von Tschermak was originally also credited with the rediscovery, this is no longer generally accepted, because he did not understand Mendel's laws.[1]

References

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  1. Mayr E. (1982). The growth of biological thought. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 730. ISBN 0-674-36446-5.

Other websites

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