Jan Dzier?on was born on 16th January 1811 in the village of ?owkowice in the municipality of Kluczbork. In 1833 he graduated from the Department of Theology at Wroc?aw University, but he had also attended mathematics, astronomy and history courses. As a vicar in Sio?kowice near Opole he constructed an observation hive, in which he was the first to observe the phenomenon of virgin birth in bees (parthenogenesis - that is development of a normal embryo from an unfertilised egg). By the end of his life he returned to his native ?owkowice, where he "kept bees" till his death on 26th October 1906. After the war, in recognition of his merits, the Dr Rev. Jan Dzier?on Museum was established in the building by the old castle gate in Kluczbork, devoted mainly to the history of beekeeping in Silesia in the period from the 10th century to the 20th century. 20th September 1981, thanks to donations from beekeepers from all over Poland and members of the Polish Beekeepers' Association from the province and from Kluczbork, saw the official unveiling and blessing ceremony of Dzier?on's memorial. Dzier?on is buried in ?owkowice, a village with beekeeping traditions, previously known as Bienendorf, and in the vicinity of the village of Maciejów there is the Jan Dzier?on Open-Air Museum at the Instrumental Bee Insemination Institute, where beehives of various shapes are on display.