Janez Modic

Janez Modic (5 April 1846 – after 1892)[1][2] was a Carniolan apiarist, bee merchant, and editor. He played a significant role in laying the foundations of organized apiculture in Slovenia.[2]

Biography

Janez Modic was born in Dvorska Vas.[1][3][4] As a young man, he served in the Austro-Hungarian military, attaining the rank of sergeant. He took part in the Battle of Custoza in 1866.[2]

After his military service, he was active in industry, initially in Bohinjska Bistrica.[2] He moved to Jesenice by 1879,[1] where he was involved in the bee trade.[1] Modic distributed colonies of bees in hives, swarms, and queen bees, and also employed a beekeeper.[2] In addition to his involvement in apiculture, he also prospected for ore deposits and was a hunter.[2] Modic founded the Jesenice-based Carniolan Beekeepers and Orchardists Society (Slovene: Čebelarsko in sadjarsko društvo za Kranjsko) on 20 May 1883 as a counterweight to the Vienna-based beekeeping association[2] and he served as its president.[5][6] He published the Ljubljana-based newsletter Slovenski čebelar in sadjerejec (The Slovenian Beekeeper and Orchardist) from 1883 to 1889.[1][3][7]

In the late 1880s, Modic's business activities went into decline.[2] After the society ceased operating in 1889, Modic left his house and property in Sava[2] and moved away to Carinthia, Austria.[1] His date and place of death are unknown,[1][6] but he died after 1892.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Janez Modic." Slovenski biografski leksikon. (in Slovene)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Debevec, Leopold. 1946. "Dve stoletnici." Slovenski čebelar 48(12): 290–292.
  3. ^ a b Bokal, Ljudmila, ed. 2008. Čebelarski terminološki slovar. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU and Lukovica: Čebelarska zveza Slovenije, p. 256.
  4. ^ Deterding, Manfred. 1983. "Velike Lašče. 80 let trških pravic." Naša komuna (22 June): 7. (in Slovene)
  5. ^ Čebelarsko društvo Jesenice Archived 2014-04-21 at the Wayback Machine (in Slovene)
  6. ^ a b Skok, Marjan, & Janez Mihelič. 1998. "Pregled čebelarjev, ki so vodili slovensko čebelarsko organizacijo v 125 letih njenega obstoja in najpomembnejših dogodkov, ki so vplivali na organzacijo in naše čebelarstvo." Slovenski čebelar 100(12): 310–315, p. 311. (in Slovene)
  7. ^ Slovenski čebelar in sadjerejec 1 (1883). (in Slovene)