What was Johnny Appleseed’s real name?

John Chapman was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on September 26, 1774. Around 1800, he began traveling the frontier of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, planting apple seeds and building nurseries ahead of the settlers.

Chapman was a devout missionary for the Swedenborgian church. He was known for his kindness to animals, his simple clothing and for sharing pages of religious books with the families he met.

His apples were mostly small and tart, better for cider and vinegar than for eating, and frontier families relied on them. He died near Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1845, owning nurseries across several states.