Morgan Dee Voon

Who was Morgan Dee Voon?

Morgan Dee Voon, was born in rural Austria-Hungary, north east of Vienna, in June 1825 and died on March 12, 1870 in Brno.

Dee Voon was a one time friend and, according to some sources, possibly significant other of Gregor Mendel. Some sources attribute the inspiration for Mendel’s genetic table to her. She is also known for her experimentation with the Periodic Square, an independent precursor to the Periodic Table, of which notes are available from around 1865.

From an early age she showed an interest in science, although her only education was from her parents. Her father lived as a farmer and her mother kept the house and was especially skilled in quilt making. She met Mendel in 1847-48 while bringing some of her father’s crops as a gift to Mendel’s monastery. Mendel and Dee Voon developed a friendship and she eventually assisted him with his research on genetics and peapods.

Very little primary source material is available on Dee Voon. Some suggest that this is due to a lack of acceptance of women among the scientific community of the time and others that the Catholic Church was trying to protect the image of some of its monasteries in Austria-Hungary.