1st Edition
Heredity Before Mendel Festetics and the Question of Sheep's Wool in Central Europe
The history of Science is replete with untold stories and this book is one of these accounts. The author shares a narrative of heredity, an active topic of inquiry long before Gregor Mendel – the father of genetics – planted his peas. One such interlude unfolded in Mendel’s home city and involved the sheep breeder, Imre Festetics. He sought to improve wool and proposed important rules of heredity. Unfortunately, aspects of wool quality, now known to be polygenic, complicate interpretations of the work of Festetics and explain why it is neglected. The forebearers of Mendel never get the credit they deserve. Heredity Before Mendel resurrects Festetics, the grandfather of heredity.
Key Features
1) Documents a vibrant community of scholars interested in heredity before Mendel
2) Highlights the work of Imre Festetics, the forgotten grandfather of genetics
3) Desribes political repression which stifled the nascent foundation of heredity research
4) Emphasizes the role sheep and wool played as the first model system of genetics
5) Challenges19th century taboos in Moravia leading to malicious rumors about the inbred royal House of Austria (Habsburgs).
Prologue
Author Biography
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Enigma of Heredity
2. Sheep and Heredity
3. From Sheep to Peas
4. The Legacy of Imre Festetics
Summary
Epilogue
Appendix 1: The Opinion of J. M. Ehrenfels About Inbreeding
Appendix 2: Explanations of Emmerich Festetics About Inbreeding
Appendix 3: Explanations of Christian Carl and Rudolph Andre
Appendix 4: Festetics’s Letter to Hugo Salm
Appendix 5: J. K. Nestler’s Lecture About Procreation and Heredity
Appendix 6: F. Diebl’s Lecture About the Formation of Wheat Varieties
Appendix 7: Hempel’s Paper About Artificial Fertilization
Abbreviations
References
Index
Biography
Péter Poczai is Curator at the Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Finland. He received his PhD from the University of Pannonia, Keszthely, Hungary. He is the author or co-author of dozens of scientific peer reviewed journal articles.
This is a valuable contribution to the history of genetics. It properly sets Mendel's achievements in a context of the scientific richness that characterized Moravia and Hungary at the time. It is highly recommended for libraries frequented by those interested in the history of science.
Mark F. Sanders, PhD(UC Davis College of Biological Sciences)
