Father Jan Dzierżon (16 January 1811 – 26 October 1906) (German: Johann Dzierzon) was a Polish priest, apiarist, inventor, and apiologist, famous for his discovery of parthenogenesis among bees, and for designing a movable-frame beehive.
Biography
Jan Dzierżoń was born on 16 January 1811 in Łowkowice (German: Lowkowitz) near Kluczbork (Kreuzburg), in the Kingdom of Prussia in Polish family. In 1822, he moved to Wrocław, where he completed a gymnasium. In 1833, he graduated from the Faculty of Catholic Theology of Wrocław University, and, in 1834, was ordained a catholic priest. In 1835 he took over a parish in Karłowice.
In his apiary, Dzierżon studied the social life of the honeybees and constructed several experimental beehives. In 1840, he invented a movable-frame beehive, which allowed manipulation of individual honeycombs without destroying the structure of the hive. His design quickly gained popularity in Central Europe.
In 1845, Dzierżon discovered, that the drones are produced from unfertilized eggs. His results caused a revolution in bee crossbreeding. In 1854, he discovered the mechanism of secretion of the royal jelly and its role in the development of queens.
In 1872, Dzierżon received a honoris causa doctorate from the University of Munich. In 1874, he moved back to Łowkowice, where he died on 26 October 1906, at the age of 95.
Legacy
Jan Dzierżon is the father of modern apiology and apiculture. All modern beehives are descendants of his design.
In 1946, the town of Rychbach (Reichenbach) in Lower Silesia was renamed Dzierżoniów in his honour. In 1962, Jan Dzierżon's museum of apiculture was established in Kluczbork. There is another one, in Maciejów, where he also worked.