Gregor Mendel taught at Brno’s Modern School for 14 years before becoming abbot. He began teaching there in 1854, after returning from his studies at the University of Vienna, and continued until his election as abbot of St. Thomas’s Abbey in 1868.
His teaching career was closely connected with his scientific development. Mendel principally taught physics and natural history, subjects that suited his training and encouraged his interest in observation, measurement, and living systems. During these years he also carried out the pea-plant experiments that led to his laws of segregation and independent assortment.
The number is sometimes confused with other stages of Mendel’s career. He spent about two years in Vienna, and his major pea-breeding experiments lasted roughly eight years, from 1856 to 1863. The 14-year figure refers specifically to his teaching at the Brno Modern School, from 1854 until 1868, when his responsibilities changed substantially after he became abbot.