L l langstroth biography

American apiarist (1810–1895)

Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth (December 25, 1810 – October 6, 1895) was an American apiarist, clergyman, and teacher, who has been called the father of American beekeeping.^[1] He recognized the concept of bee-space, a minimum distance that bees avoid sealing up.

Although not his own discovery, the use of this principle allowed for the use of frames that the bees leave separate and this allowed the use of rectangular frames within the design of what is now called the Langstroth hive.^[2]

Early life and family

Langstroth was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 25 1810, the second of eight children in a family of English descent.

L l langstroth biography

Even as a boy he showed keen interest in insects. He graduated in theology from Yale Divinity School in 1831, and subsequently held a tutorship there from 1834–1835. After this, he was pastor of various Congregational churches in Massachusetts, including the South Church in