Jonathan Chapman was born in Massachusetts on this date in 1774. Chapman earned his nickname “Johnny Appleseed” because he planted orchards and apple trees across 100,000 square miles of wilderness and prairie in the Midwest. According to the Library of Congress:
Chapman, sometimes referred to as an American St. Francis of Assisi, was an ambulant man. As a member of the first New-Church (Swedenborgian), his work resembled that of a missionary. Each year he traveled hundreds of miles on foot, wearing clothing made from sacks, and carrying a cooking pot which he is said to have worn like a cap. His travels took him through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.
Chapman died in 1845.