This Day in Pop Culture for March 11

1845: Johnny Appleseed Dies

John “Johnny Appleseed” Chapman was both a promoter of apples and the gospel. He introduced apple trees by planting nurseries of apples to those living in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. It is said that he would tell stories to children and spread the New Church gospel to adults in exchange for a floor to sleep on. He was a lover of Native Americans and stated that he “traveled more than 4,000 miles about this country, and I have never met with one single insolent Native American.” Chapman was born on September 26, 1774 and died on this day in 1845. 103 years later, Disney released the movie Melody Time to theaters in 1948 which featured the short The Legend of Johnny Appleseed.