Notable people · Inventor · Science
Lorenzo L. Langstroth
Philadelphia-born clergyman and beekeeper who patented the first movable-frame beehive in America (5 Oct 1852) and discovered 'bee space'. He made Oxford, Ohio his home from 1858 to 1887 and died in Dayton.
At a glance
- Born
- 1810-12-25
- Died
- 1895-10-06
- Education
- Yale College / Divinity, New Haven, CT, to 1831, theology
- Known as
- Inventor, Science
- Organizations
- Miami University
Life story
Lorenzo Langstroth was born in Philadelphia in 1810 and graduated from Yale in 1831 with training in theology. He tutored at Yale and then served as a Congregational pastor in Massachusetts, in Andover and later Greenfield.
He took up beekeeping in 1838, found in 1851 the narrow gap bees leave alone, which he called bee space, and filed a patent for a movable-frame hive on October 5, 1852. In 1853 he published The Hive and the Honey-Bee.
In 1858 he moved to Oxford, Ohio, and lived there until 1887, when he moved to Dayton. The Langstroth Cottage in Oxford, built in 1856, is a National Historic Landmark on the Miami University campus. He died in Dayton in 1895 and is buried at Woodland Cemetery.
Timeline
- 1810-12-25: Born (Philadelphia, PA) source
- 1831: Graduates Yale (New Haven, CT) source
- 1836: Pastor, South Church (Andover, MA) source
- 1838: Takes up beekeeping (Massachusetts) source
- 1851: Discovers bee space (Greenfield, MA) source
- 1852-10-05: Patents movable-frame hive (US) source
- 1853: Publishes The Hive and the Honey-Bee (US) source
- 1858: Moves to Oxford, Ohio (Oxford, OH) source
- 1873: Wife Anne dies (US) source
- 1887: Moves to Dayton (Dayton, OH) source
- 1895-10-06: Dies (Dayton, OH) source
What Lorenzo is known for
- Movable-frame beehive patent 5 Oct 1852
- Discovered bee space
- The Hive and the Honey-Bee 1853
- Lived in Oxford, Ohio 1858-1887; cottage is a National Historic Landmark
- Movable-frame beehive patent, 1852
- The Hive and the Honey-Bee (1853)
Honors and things named for them
- Called the 'father of American beekeeping'
- Langstroth Cottage, Oxford, OH, National Historic Landmark
Family
- wife: Anne Tucker
- child: James
- child: Anna
- child: Harriet A.
Places in Ohio to see
- Langstroth Cottage (exterior; houses transit offices) (home)
303 Patterson Ave, Oxford, Butler County ZIP 45056 (approximate) · Oxford · Butler County · official page - Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum (grave) (grave)
118 Woodland Ave, Dayton, Montgomery County ZIP 45409 · Dayton · Montgomery County
Ohio places
Where Lorenzo L. Langstroth was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Lived: Oxford, Butler County ZIP 45056 · Oxford · Butler County
- Lived: Dayton (died), Montgomery County ZIP 45402 · Dayton · Montgomery County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- L. L. Langstroth (Wikipedia) dates, Oxford OH 1858-87, patent 1852, Dayton death