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Johann Dzierzon

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Photo of Jan Dzierżon

Jan Dzierżon (known also as: Johann Dzierzon or Johannes Dzierzon, 16 January 1811 – 26 October 1906) was a Polish-German , Roman Catholic priest and a distinguished apiarist who was best known for his discovery of parthenogenesis among bees, and for designing the first successful movable-frame beehive.

Early life

Jan Dzierżon was born and died in Łowkowice (German:Lowkowitz) near Kluczbork (German:Kreuzburg) in Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia (later part of Germany).

Dzierżon is variously described as a Pole , a German, or a Silesian. He considered himself a member of the Polish nation, as he was member of a native Silesian Polish family. His parents who did not speak German were also Polish.. His mother's name was Maria z Jantosiów (Polish surname: Jantos);

After completing Polish elementary school he was sent to a Protestant one located a mile away from his village . In 1822 he moved to Breslau (Wrocław), where he attended a middle school commonly know in that area as a gymnasium. In 1833, he graduated from the Faculty of Catholic Theology of the Breslau University, and, in 1834, became chaplain in Siołkowice (Schalkowitz). As an ordained Roman Catholic priest he took over a parish in Karłowice (Karlsmarkt) in 1835. Years later his religious authorities took offence at his scientific research and retired him in 1869.

Professional career

In his apiary, Jan Dzierżon 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 1 and ½ inches from the center of one top bar to the center of next one. In 1848 Dzierzon introduced grooves into the hive’s side walls replacing the strips of wood for moving top bars. The grooves had been 8 × 8 mm—exact average between ¼ and ⅜ of an inch, which is range recently called bee space. His design quickly gained popularity in Europe and North America. On the basis of the aforementioned measurements, August von Berlepsch (May 1852) in Thuringia and L. L. Langstroth (October 1852) in the United States designed their frame-movable hives.

In 1835, Dzierżon discovered that the drones are produced from unfertilized eggs. The discovery was published in 1845. The publication, which remained controversial until 1906, proposed that while queen bees and female worker bees were the result of fertilization, drones were not, and that the diets of immature bees contributed to their subsequent roles. His results caused a revolution in bee crossbreeding and may have influenced Gregor Mendel's pioneering genetic research. 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." 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. From 1873 to 1902 Dzierżon, a sympathizer of Döllinger, was a member of the Old Catholic Church, but in 1905 he was reconciled to the Roman Catholic Church, after a series of theological debates with curate Szoltysek of the Roman Catholic parish of Łomkowice in Upper Silesia.

Legacy

File:Jan Dzierzon.jpg
Painting from 1936

Jan Dzierżon is the father of modern apiology and apiculture. Most modern beehives are derived from the basis of his earlier design. The correct distance between combs was described in 1845 by Jan Dzierżon as 1½ inches (3.81 centimeters) 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 had been 8 × 8 mm—exact average between ¼ and ⅜ of an inch, which is called bee space.

In 1936, his birthplace, Łowkowice (Lowkowitz), was renamed by the Nazi regime to Bienendorf (German for "Bee Village"). It was renamed Łowkowice after the region came under Polish control following World War II.

Also, after 1945, the town of Reichenbach im Eulengebirge was first renamed Rychbach, then Dzierżoniów in Dzierzon's honor. In 1962, a Jan Dzierżon's Museum of Apiculture was established in Kluczbork (Kreuzburg).

Jan Dzierżon received several honors, among them the Austrian Order of Franz Joseph, the Bavarian Merit Order of St. Michael, the Hessian Ludwig Order, the Russian Order of St. Anna, the Swedish Order of Vasa, the Prussian Order of the Crown (4th Class) at his 90th birthday, and many more. He was an honorary member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, among others. He also received an honorary diploma at Graz, presented by Archduke Johann of Austria. In 1903 Dzierżon was presented to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. In 1904 he became an honorary member of the Schlesische Gesellschaft für vaterländische Kultur ("Silesian Society for Fatherland Culture").

Selected works

His works include 800 articles in several scientific magazines and 26 books, published in German and - after translation Polish. The most important include:

  • 15 Nov 1845: Sztuka zrobienica złota, nawet z zielska Tygodnik Polski Poświęcony Włościanom, Pszczyna.
  • 1848-1852: Theorie und Praxis des neuen Bienenfreundes ("Theory and Practice of the Modern Bee-friend")
  • 1851 and 1859: Nowe udoskonalone pszczelnictwo księdza plebana Dzierżona w Katwicach na Śląsku. Leszno 2006 reprint
  • 1852: Nachtrag zur Theorie und Praxis des neuen Bienenfreundes (Appendix to "Theory and Practice"), C. H. Beck'sche Buchhandlung, Nördlingen,
  • 1853: Najnowsze pszczelnictwo. Lwów

Magazines published by Dzierzon:

  • 1854-1856: Der Bienenfreund aus Schlesien ("The Bee-friend from Silesia") American bee journal
  • 1861-1878: Rationelle Bienenzucht ("Rational apiculture")

Articles by Dzierżon in Frauendörfer Blätter ("Frauendorf News") were collected by Rentmeister Bruckisch from Grottkau (Grodków) and re-published under the titles:

  • Neue verbesserte Bienen-Zucht des Johann Dzierzon ("New improved bee-breeding, of John Dzierzon"), Brieg 1855
  • Neue verbesserte Bienen-Zucht des Pfarrers Dzierzon zu Carlsmarkt in Schlesien ("New improved bee-breeding, of priest Dzierzon at Carlsmarkt in Silesia"), Ernst'sche Buchhandlung, 1861
  • Lebensbeschreibung von ihm selbst, vom 4. August 1885 (abgedruckt im Heimatkalender des Kreises Kreuzburg/OS 1931, S. 32-28), 1885 (Dziergon's own biography, reprinted in 1931)
  • Der Zwillingsstock ("Semi-detached beehive"), E. Thielmann, 1890 illustration

English translations:

  • Dzierzon's rational bee-keeping; or The theory and practice of dr. Dzierzon of Carlsmarkt, Translated by H. Dieck and S. Stutterd, ed. and revised by C. N. Abbott, Published by Houlston & sons, 1882

References

  1. ^ http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC19475064&id=qRgPAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA788&lpg=PA788&dq=dzierzon&num=100#PPA789,M1
  2. A Calendar of the correspondence of Charles Darwin, 1821-1882, with supplement. Cambridge University Press. 1994. pp. S28. ISBN 0521434238. Dzierzon, Johannes (1811-1906). Distinguished German apiarian noted for his theory of parthenogenesis {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. Harbison, W. C. (2009). Bees and Bee-Keeping. READ BOOKS. p. 114. ISBN 1444646591. a German apiarian, named Dzierzon
  4. Browne, E. Janet (2002). Charles Darwin: The power of place. Knopf. p. 203. ISBN 0679429328. As Darwin's web of inquiries spread outwards, even the eminent German apiarian Johannes Dzierzon informed him that variation was negligible {{cite book}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 79 (help)
  5. "Beekeeping in the United States" (Issue 335 of Agriculture handbook). United States. Agricultural Research Service: 2. {{cite journal}}: |issue= has extra text (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Text "This method apparently made little impact on the rest of Europe until Dzierzon, a German clergyman, improved and used it in Germany" ignored (help)
  6. Rostand, Jean (1973). Humanly possible; a biologist's notes on the future of mankind. Saturday Review Press. ISBN 0841501777. In 1850, the German beekeeper, Johann Dzierzon, who discovered parthenogenesis in honeybees {{cite book}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 79 (help)
  7. Darwin, Charles (1997). Frederick Burkhardt, Joy Harvey, Duncan M. Porter, Jonathan R. Topham (ed.). The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. Vol. 10 (1862). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521590329. renowned German beekeeper Johannes Dzierzon{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  8. http://www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/exhibits/bees/six.htm
  9. ^ Britanica Encyclopaedia, 15th edition; article "Dzierżoniów" page 312; online version (retrieved on 23 January 2007)
  10. Other English language sources identifying him as Polish include (all web pages retrieved on 23 January 2007)
  11. Other sources
  12. *W. Kocowicz i A. Kuźba "Tracing Jan Dzierżon Passion" Poznań 1987; page 8
  13. Charles Darwin, Frederick Burkhardt, Sydney Smith, Joy Harvey, Duncan M. Porter (1997). The Correspondence of Charles Darwin: 1862. Cambridge University Press. The reference is to the renowned German beekeeper, Johannes Dzierzon.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ http://www.kluczbork.pl/kluczbork/historia/dzierzon.php
  15. Bogdan Cimała, "Kluczbork: dzieje miasta" (Kluczbork, City History), Instytut Śląski, 1992,
  16. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/175400/Jan-Dzierzon
  17. See discussion at Studia i materiały z dziejów Śląska (1958), p.531 and Bogdan Cimała, Kluczbork: dzieje miasta (1992), p.99
  18. "Patroni ulic Wrocławia" Zygmunt Antkowiak, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1982
  19. "Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition, volume 5" Leipzig 1885-1889; page 268; online version (retrieved on 6 February 2007) Template:De icon
  20. Everett Mendelsohn, Garland E. Allen (2002). Science, history, and social activism. Springer.
  21. Alfred Henry Sturtevant, Edward B. Lewis (2001). A history of genetics. CSHL Press.
  22. Eva Crane. The world history of beekeeping and honey hunting. Taylor & Francis.
  23. Niemcy "przechrzcili” miejscowość znaną pod polską nazwą w całym świecie (Łowkowice = Bienendorf). Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny, 8 X 1936, nr 280.
  24. Article, signed Dzierzoń, online at digitalsilesia.eu

Further reading

  • L. Brożek "Jan Dzierżon. Studium monograficzne" Opole 1978
  • W. Kocowicz i A. Kuźba "Tracing Jan Dzierżon Passion" Poznań 1987
  • A. Gładysz "Jan Dzierżon, pszczelarz o światowej sławie" Katowice 1957
  • H. Borek i S. Mazak "Polskie pamiątki rodu Dzierżoniów" Opole 1983
  • W. Chmielewski "World-Famous Polish Beekeeper - Dr. Jan Dzierżon (1811-1906) and his work in the centenary year of his death" in Journal of Apicultural Research, Volume 45(3), 2006
  • S. Orgelbrand "Encyklopedia ..." 1861
  • “ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture” 1990, article Dzierzon pg 147

External links

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