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Johann Dzierzon

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

Biography

Jan Dzierżon was born and died in Łowkowice (German:Lowkowitz) near Kluczbork (Kreuzburg) in Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia (later Germany). Johann Dzierzon wrote in his own biography in 1889, '"that he was born in Lowkowitz near Kreuzburg , which was printed in the 1906/7 editition of the Jahresbericht der Schlesischen Gesellschaft fuer vaterlaendische Kultur. He is described by Encyclopedia Britanica (2007) and many other sources as an ethnic Pole and he considered himself a member of the Polish nation, as he was member of native Silesian Polish family.His parents did not speak German. 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 Wrocław (Breslau), 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.

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 publicized in 1845. 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. 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. All modern beehives are descendants of his design.

Dzierżon considered himself a Pole and was born to Polish parents, although several modern English language sources call him German. Others call him an ethnic Pole recalling his statement that he is a member of the Polish nation, having been born to ethnically Polish parents. Some sources also stress his region of birth (Silesia), and refer to him as Silesian.

In 1936, his village of birth, Łowkowice (Lowkowitz), was renamed by Nazi Germany to Bienendorf (German for "Bee Village") and kept the name until 1945. 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). Another was established in the town of Maciejów.

Jan Dzierżon received many 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. Dzierżon received an honorary diploma at Graz, presented by Archduke Johann of Austria. In 1903 he 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 zrobienia 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

See also

References

  1. "Jan Dzierżon"
  2. Google Books search "Johann Dzierzon"
  3. Johann Dzerzon's own words about his life
  4. Britanica Encyclopaedia, 15th edition; article "Dzierżoniów" page 312; online version (retrieved on 23 January 2007)
  5. Bogdan Cimała, "Kluczbork: dzieje miasta" (Kluczbork, City History), Instytut Śląski, 1992,
  6. See discussion at Studia i materiały z dziejów Śląska (1958), p.531 and Bogdan Cimała, Kluczbork: dzieje miasta (1992), p.99
  7. "Patroni ulic Wrocławia" Zygmunt Antkowiak, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1982
  8. "Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition, volume 5" Leipzig 1885-1889; page 268; online version (retrieved on 6 February 2007) Template:De icon
  9. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/175400/Jan-Dzierzon
  10. Google Books search Dzierzon German date:1990-2008
  11. Other English language sources identifying him as Polish include (all web pages retrieved on 23 January 2007)
  12. Other sources
  13. *W. Kocowicz i A. Kuźba "Tracing Jan Dzierżon Passion" Poznań 1987; page 8
  15. Niemcy "przechrzcili” miejscowość znaną pod polską nazwą w całym świecie (Łowkowice = Bienendorf). Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny, 8 X 1936, nr 280.
  16. Britanica Encyclopaedia, 15th edition; article "Dzierżoniów" page 312; online version (retrieved on 23 January 2007)

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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