jan 1, 1900 - 1900: Mendel's theories are rediscovered by researchers

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In 1900, 16 years after his death, Gregor Mendel's pea plant research finally made its way into the wider scientific community.

The Dutch botanist and geneticist Hugo de Vries, German botanist and geneticist Carl Erich Correns and Austrian botanist Erich Tschermak von Seysenegg all independently rediscovered Mendel's work and reported results of hybridization experiments similar to his findings.

In Britain, biologist William Bateson became a leading champion of Mendel's theories and gathered around him an enthusiastic group of followers. Known as ‘Mendelians’, the supporters initially clashed with Darwinians (supporters of Charles Darwin's theories). At the time, evolution was believed to be based on the selection of small, blending variations whereas Mendel's variations clearly did not blend.

It took three decades for Mendelian theory to be sufficiently understood and to find its place within evolutionary theory.

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