Scientific animal breeding in moravia before and after the rediscovery of Mendel's theory

Leading Moravian sheep breeders, who joined with university professors and other educated citizens to form a Sheep Breeders' Society in 1814, looked t o science to provide a reliable basis for breeding. Their activities reache d a climax in the 1830s, when they defined and focused on heredity as the c entral research goal. Among the members taking part was Abbott Cyrill F Nap p, who in 1843 would accept mendel into the monastery. The contributions of Abbot Napp to the sheep breeders' view of heredity are here described. Aft er 1900, when Moravian animal breeding sought to embrace Mendelism, in comp etition with other theories, a major influence was exerted by Jaroslav Kriz enecky (1896-1964). In 1963, Krizenecky accepted responsibility for establi shing the Mendel Museum (Mendelianum) in Brno as a vehicle for historical r esearch into the origin and essence of Mendel's discovery.