Who is often referred to as the father of genetics?

Mendel is often referred to as the father of genetics due to his foundational work in understanding the inheritance of traits through his experiments with pea plants. He discovered the fundamental laws of inheritance, including the concepts of dominant and recessive traits, which laid the groundwork for the field of genetics. His meticulous cross-breeding experiments and subsequent analysis of the traits exhibited by the plants led to the formulation of what are now known as Mendel's laws of heredity. These discoveries were revolutionary and established a scientific framework for understanding how traits are passed down from parents to offspring, influencing countless studies in biology and genetics that followed.

While Darwin is recognized for his contributions to the theory of evolution, and Watson and Crick are celebrated for their discovery of the structure of DNA, it is Mendel's pioneering work with genetic inheritance that earns him the title of the father of genetics.