Early Life and Education: Gregor Mendel was born into a German-speaking family in the village of Heinzendorf, in the Austrian Empire (now the Czech Republic), on July 20, 1822. He was the son of Anton Mendel and Rosine Schwirtlich, both of whom were farmers. At the age of 11, Mendel was sent to a nearby school in Troppau, where he received his elementary education. In 1840, at the age of 18, Mendel began his studies at the University of Olomouc, where he studied philosophy, mathematics, physics, and natural history. In 1843, he entered the Augustinian monastery of St. Thomas in Brno, where he took the name Gregor and began his training as a monk. It was during his time at the monastery that he became interested in botany and began conducting experiments on the inheritance of traits in plants. Experiments with Pea Plants: Between 1856 and 1863, Mendel conducted a series of experiments on pea plants in the monastery's garden. He chose pea plants because they were easy to grow, had a