History of genetics History of genetics The history of genetics dates from the classical era with contributions by Hippocrates, Aristotle and Epicurus. Modern biology began with the work of the Augustinian friar Gregor Johann Mendel. His work on pea plants, published in 1866,what is now Mendelian inheritance. Some theories of heredity suggest in the centuries before and for several decades after Mendel's work. The year 1900 marked the "rediscovery of Mendel" by Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns and Erich von Tschermak, and by 1915 the basic principles of Mendelian genetics had been applied to a wide variety of organisms—most notably the fruit fly
Journal of Heredity Journal of Heredity The Journal of Heredity is a peer-reviewed scientific journal concerned with heredity in a biological sense, covering all aspects of genetics. It is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Genetic Association. The trends in topics that have been published in the journal reflect the history of the discipline of genetics. Early issues included many papers on eugenics, particularly under the editorial leadership of the journal's first two editors-in-chief, Paul Popenoe and R. C. Cook. Emphasis on eugenics in the journal declined throughout the 1940s and 1950s as support for the topic waned in