Mendelian genetics is a set of laws explaining how physical traits are inherited by offspring from their parents.
The Austrian scientist Gregor Mendel developed the foundation of Mendelian genetics through his experiments with pea plants. Although he worked long before the discovery of DNA, he is considered the father of modern genetics. Mendel discovered that physical characteristics are passed down through distinct units of heredity — which he called "factors" and we now call "genes" — inherited from both parents. Mendelian genetics helps explain simple traits, like having a widow's peak hairline, that are determined by a single gene.