Who is regarded as the Father of Genetics?

The Father of Genetics is Gregor Mendel, who conducted groundbreaking experiments in the mid-19th century that laid the foundation for the science of heredity. Mendel's work with pea plants led to the discovery of the basic laws of inheritance, including concepts such as dominant and recessive traits, which are pivotal in understanding how genes are transmitted from one generation to the next.

Mendel meticulously documented his experiments and derived the principles of segregation and independent assortment, which explain how different traits are inherited separately. His work was largely unrecognized during his lifetime but was later rediscovered, leading to its acknowledgment as foundational in the field of genetics.

While other figures mentioned in the choices contributed significantly to biological sciences—Linnaeus in taxonomy, Mendeleev in the periodic table of elements, and Watson in the discovery of the DNA structure—they did not focus on genetics in the same pioneering way as Mendel. This makes Mendel the most pertinent figure when discussing the origins and establishment of genetic theories.