František Hruška

Franz Hruschka, Franz von Hruschka, Francesco De Hruschka, František Hruška (May 13, 1819 – May 11, 1888) was an Austrian-Italian officer and beekeeper of Czech origin. He is known as the inventor of the honey extractor, an invention he presented in 1865 at the Brno Beekeeper Conference.

Life Early life Franz von Hruschka was born on May 13, 1819, in Vienna, Austria, to Franz Ludwig Augustin von Hruschka, an officer in the Austrian Army and Anna Simon, the daughter of another officer. He spent his childhood in České Budějovice (today in the Czech Republic) and moved to Graz, Austria in 1827 completing elementary school and three years of secondary school.

Military Left to right: Friedrich, Franz (father), Antonie, Antonia (mother) and Marie. At 14 years old, he is drafted as a cadet of the 19th Infantry Regiment Hessen-Homburg but remains in a unit in Graz. He graduates from the cadet's school in 1836 having studied Czech language and moved back to Vienna with his regiment. He is reassigned to the Hungarian regiment Bakonyi number 33 based in Milan under Austrian rule at the time. He is promoted to the rank of officer cadet in 1840 and to lieutenant in 1844. In 1848, he joins the marines and promoted to ship sublieutenant. He receives the Military Merit Cross for his success during the Venezia Blockade. In 1849, he is promoted to the frigate lieutenant and in 1852 he becomes ship lieutenant.

Family Left to right: Rosalie, Antonie, Friedrich and Marie Hruschka. Parents: Franz and Antonia Hruschka In 1848, while a marines officer, Franz's boat was anchored in Trieste. A visit of the countess Schoenborn and her adopted daughter, Antonia Albrech (~1823 - January 16, 1893) visited his ship. Their courtship lasted two years as though he was a high-ranking officer, he was still poor at the time. They were finally married in 1850 and her dowry was worth 12,000 Guldens. She was the daughter of Josef and Antonie Albrech and was born around 1823 in Mór (now in Hungary). They lived in Dolo and had a house in Venezia, known as the Palazzo Brandolin Rota.

In 1865, he invented honey extractor, a simple machine for extracting honey from the comb by means of centrifugal force. He was also teaching and demonstrating the use of movable frames designed by Johann Dzierzon in 1838 leading to L. L. Langstroth patenting his beehive with movable frames in 1852 in the United States. Italy was opening up to modern beekeeping and Hruschka was at the forefront of this rapid movement. He gained significant fame in Italy and across Europe. He experimented with bee colonies living without hives in 1866 and 1867. He also experimented with mating queens.