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Jan Dzierżoń (Johann Dzierzon) - true father of beekeeping

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#1 · (Edited)
Johann Dzierzon, or Jan Dzierżon [ˈjan ˈd͡ʑɛrʐɔn] or Dzierżoń [ˈd͡ʑɛrʐɔɲ], also John Dzierzon (16 January 1811 – 26 October 1906), was a pioneering apiarist who discovered the phenomenon of parthenogenesis in bees and designed the first successful movable-frame beehive.

Dzierzon came from a Polish family in Silesia. Trained in theology, he combined his theoretical and practical work in apiculture with his duties as a Roman Catholic priest, before being compulsorily retired by the Church and eventually excommunicated.

His discoveries and innovations made him world-famous in scientific and bee-keeping circles, and he has been described as the "father of modern apiculture".

Johann Dzierzon is considered the father of modern apiology and apiculture.[20] Most modern beehives derive from his design. Due to language barriers, Dzierzon was unaware of the achievements of his contemporary, L.L. Langstroth,[20] the American "father of modern beekeeping",[21] though Langstroth had access to translations of Dzierzon's works.[22] Dzierzon's manuscripts, letters, diplomas and original copies of his works were given to a Polish museum by his nephew, Franciszek Dzierżoń.[8]

In his apiary, Dzierzon studied the social life of honeybees and constructed several experimental beehives. In 1838 he devised the first practical movable-comb beehive, which allowed manipulation of individual honeycombs without destroying the structure of the hive. The correct distance between combs had been described as 1½ inches from the center of one top bar to the center of the next one. In 1848 Dzierzon introduced grooves into the hive’s side walls, replacing the strips of wood for moving top bars. The grooves were 8 × 8 mm—the exact average between ¼ and ⅜ inch, which is the range called the "bee space." His design quickly gained popularity in Europe and North America. On the basis of the aforementioned measurements, August Adolph von Berlepsch (de) (May 1852) in Thuringia and L.L. Langstroth (October 1852) in the United States designed their frame-movable hives.

In 1835 Dzierzon discovered that drones are produced from unfertilized eggs. Dzierzon's paper, published in 1845, proposed that while queen bees and female worker bees were products of fertilization, drones were not, and that the diets of immature bees contributed to their subsequent roles.[14] His results caused a revolution in bee crossbreeding and may have influenced Gregor Mendel's pioneering genetic research.[15] The theory remained controversial until 1906, the year of Dzierzon's death, when it was finally accepted by scientists at a conference in Marburg.[11] In 1853 he acquired a colony of Italian bees to use as genetic markers in his research, and sent their progeny "to all the countries of Europe, and even to America."[16] In 1854 he discovered the mechanism of secretion of royal jelly and its role in the development of queen bees.
Bust of Jan Dzierżoń, National Museum of Agriculture in Szreniawa

With his discoveries and innovations, Dzierzon became world-famous in his lifetime.[13] He received some hundred honorary memberships and awards from societies and organizations.[11] In 1872 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Munich.[13] Other honors included the Austrian Order of Franz Joseph, the Bavarian Merit Order of St. Michael, the Hessian Ludwigsorden, the Russian Order of St. Anna, the Swedish Order of Vasa, the Prussian Order of the Crown, 4th Class, on his 90th birthday, and many more. He was an honorary member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He also received an honorary diploma at Graz, presented by Archduke Johann of Austria. In 1903 Dzierzon was presented to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.[13] In 1904 he became an honorary member of the Schlesische Gesellschaft für vaterländische Kultur ("Silesian Society for Fatherland Culture").


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#33 ·
From what I have read Langstroth was far from the first person to come up with a movable frame hive. My impression is that there where several of them. To the point it was almost like everyone was coming up with one. In truth I cannot for certain think of anything Langstroth did come up with first but then that my be my limited knowledge speaking. What I do credit Langstroth for is getting it popularized. The overall impression on me was Langstroth was a promoter or salesperson. I have never really considered the langstroth hive to be the best. simply the most popular. That alone could be a huge motivation for it to be and remain the most common hive used. As far as other information concerning bees such as bees space food queen rearing fertility genetics etc. I have never heard much on langstroth and these issues. Quite possibly he was simply aware of what others have discovered. Evidently whatever others knew when they failed at one critical step. they didn't pass it along. Where does that play inot the "Fathering" of anything. Consider the roll of nurture, support promotion of your idea as part of "Fathering". SO I suppose it has a lot to do with how you want to look at it as to who did what. But I have never had that much of an impression that Langstroth himself came up with a lot of idea solely on his own. I am not sure anyone did. So as far as some single individual having the entire package in and of themselves. don't think it ever happened.
 
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