John Chapman was an American pioneer and Swedenborgian Christian missionary known as "Johnny Appleseed" because he planted apple trees in large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, and became an American legend while he was still alive, being portrayed in works of art and literature. He is considered an early conservationist, what would be called today an ecologist.
There is some vagueness concerning the date of his death. Harper's Magazine of November, 1871 gives the date as 1847. Other sources, however, give the year as 1845 and some give the date as March 18, though it is difficult to find documentation of this date. A memorial site is located on a hill in Johnny Appleseed Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His actual grave is unmarked and located somewhere along the St. Joseph River in the park.
---wikipedia.org