Everett Franklin Phillips (1878-1951) was an American apiculturist, scholar, and innovator in the

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

field. Phillips’ interest in honey bees began during his graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1900s, after which he took on a position with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) where he spearheaded efforts to bring the U.S. beekeeping industry to modern scientific standards. Not only did this work help beekeeping practitioners and scholars, it also played a part in the 400% increase in commercial honey production that Phillips oversaw during World War I. In 1924, Phillips joined the faculty of Cornell University as professor of apiculture. There, together with long-time friend and major U.S. apiculturist E. R. Root, he worked to establish a world-class beekeeping library. An endowment fund started by the New York State Beekeepers’ Association, supplemented with proceeds from the Dyce Honey Patent—an innovation in the production of creamed honey patented by Elton J. Dyce, also of Cornell—made possible the purchase of new library acquisitions over the years. The E. F. Phillips Beekeeping Collection, housed at the A. R. Mann Library at Cornell University, is today one of the largest beekeeping libraries in the world, containing some of the oldest existing beekeeping treatises, complete collections of writings by famed apiculturists such as

L. L. Langstroth Rev. Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth (December 25, 1810 – October 6, 1895) was an American apiarist, clergyman, and teacher, and considered to be the father of American beekeeping. He created the modern day Langstroth hive. Early life and fami ...

and

Moses Quinby Moses Quinby (April 15 or 16, 1810 – May 26, 1875) was an American beekeeper from the State of New York. He is remembered as the father of practical beekeeping and the father of commercial beekeeping in America. He is best known as the invento ...

, and apitherapist and friend Bodog F. Beck and an ever-growing number of new publications. In 1932 professor E. F. Phillips was invited to the Soviet Union, Republic of Georgia and spent a month visiting various beekeeping and bee research establishments. E. F. Phillips paid special attention to the unique characteristics of the Apis Mellifera Caucasia (

Caucasian honey bee The Caucasian honey bee (''Apis mellifera caucasia'', commonly misspelled ''caucasica'') is a subspecies of the western honey bee. Origin The Caucasian honey bee originates from the high valleys of the Central Caucasus. Georgia is the “central ...

) species - great tongue ( proboscis) length and docility and was impressed with the beekeeping potential in Georgia. Phillips and his wife Mary Geisler Phillips, continued to work at expanding the beekeeping library at Cornell until his death in 1951.

References

* Morris-Knower, James P.. "Beeman of Ithaca: E. Franklin Phillips & the Phillips’ Beekeeping Collection at Cornell's Albert R. Mann Library." Bee Culture Nov (2000): 23-25. * Caron, Dewey M.. "Dr. E. F. Phillips." EAS Meeting. University of Delaware, Aug 2002 * A beekeeping visit to the Soviet Union. By Eva Crane. Bee World 44 (2) 48 – 76 DATE: 1963

External links

The Hive and the Honeybee
Online archive of items in the Phillips Beekeeping Collection
A Buzz About Bees
Exhibit on the Phillips Beekeeping Collection, Cornell University

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, E. F. 1878 births 1951 deaths American beekeepers Cornell University faculty United States Department of Agriculture officials University of Pennsylvania alumni Beltsville Agricultural Research Center scientists

See also

References

External links