Portrait of William Bateson

William Bateson

British geneticist and biologist

Lived
1861–1926

Updated September 2026

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About William Bateson

William Bateson was an English biologist who coined the term genetics to describe the study of heredity. His popularization of Gregor Mendel's work following its rediscovery in 1900 earned him the nickname "Mendel's bulldog". His 1894 book Materials for the Study of Variation was one of the earliest formulations of the new approach to genetics.

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.