What was the cause of Gregor Mendel's death?

Gregor Mendel died from chronic nephritis on 6 January 1884. Chronic nephritis was a long-term inflammatory disease of the kidneys and was recorded as the cause of his death in Brno at age 61.

By the time of his death, Mendel was no longer working primarily as an experimental scientist. He had become abbot of St. Thomas’s Abbey in 1868, and administrative disputes with the Austrian government over taxation placed heavy demands on his time and health.

The disease is sometimes described more generally as kidney failure or a chronic kidney condition. Historical accounts also refer to Bright disease, an older medical term associated with kidney disorders; these descriptions explain why “heart failure” can appear in some secondary discussions, but chronic nephritis is the canonical answer for this quiz.

Mendel’s scientific reputation was only beginning to grow after his death. His pea research was rediscovered around 1900, sixteen years after he died, and he was later recognized as the founder of modern genetics.