These two already mentioned but a little info...
George Washington (1732 ? 1799)
Washington That?s right! Our first president was a beekeeper. Before the days where politics was a career choice, most men and women who served our country were professionals in something else. George Washington always stated that he was first and foremost a progressive farmer. In fact, Mount Vernon (Washington?s Home) was a destination for those seeking to learn the latest agricultural techniques.
Some historians think that Washington kept ?Log-gum? style hives which were common at this time. However, records at Mount Vernon indicate that Washington might have also been a leader in beekeeping as well as agriculture and was already using wooden box hives to produce honey and keep bees to pollinate his crops. Washington loved eating honey as well. His favorite breakfast was corn pancakes (referred to as ?hoecakes?) slathered in honey.
Thomas Jefferson (1743 ? 1826)
Jefferson who was our third president was man of wide and varied interests. He was a farmer, a reader, an agrarian, a musician, a lawyer and also noted as a beekeeper. In fact, drawings made by Jefferson of his Monticello estate depict bee houses on both the north and south of his property. What?s more, Mr. Jefferson also recorded some historical observations about bees in Notes on the State of Virginia.
The honey-bee is not a native of our continent. Marcgrave indeed mentions a species of honey-bee in Brazil. But this has no sting, and is therefore different from the one we have, which resembles perfectly that of Europe. The Indians concur with us in the tradition that it was brought from Europe?The Indians therefore call them the white man?s fly.