JOHNNY APPLESEED DAY

Celebrating John Chapman, legendary American pioneer and folk hero who planted apple trees across the American Frontier. Chapman was born in Massachusetts, September 26, 1774, but Johnny Appleseed Day is celebrated on March 11th. Chapman earned his nickname because he planted small orchards and individual apple trees during his travels as he walked across 100,000 square miles of Midwestern wilderness and prairie. He was a genuine and dedicated professional nurseryman, known for his generous nature, his love of the wilderness, his devotion to the Bible, his knowledge of medicinal herbs, his harmony with the Indians, and his eccentric nature, too. Next time you bite into an apple, think of “Johnny Appleseed.”

Every Year

• JOHNNY APPLESEED DAY

1660s

• 1669: A DEADLY MT. ETNA ERUPTION BEGAN IN ITALY

1730s

• BORN 1731: ROBERT TREAT PAINE (PUBLIC OFFICIAL)

1810s

• BORN 1811: URBAIN LE VERRIER (ASTRONOMER)

1820s

• 1824: THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS WAS CREATED IN THE U.S. WAR DEPARTMENT

1860s

• BORN 1860: THOMAS HASTINGS (CO-ARCHITECT OF N.Y. PUBLIC LIBRARY)

1870s

• 1875: JENNIE KIDD TROUT BECAME THE FIRST CANADIAN WOMAN TO BECOME LICENSED TO PRACTICE MEDICINE, EARNING HER DEGREE ON THIS DAY FROM THE WOMAN’S MEDICAL COLLEGE OF PENNSYLVANIA. LATER IN 1875, SHE PASSED THE EXAMS OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS IN ONTARIO, THEREBY BECOMING THE FIRST WOMAN LICENSED TO PRACTICE MEDICINE IN CANADA.

1890s

• BORN 1890: VANNEVAR BUSH (ELECTRICAL ENGINEER)
• 1892: FIRST PUBLIC GAME OF BASKETBALL PLAYED, SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
• BORN 1897: HENRY DIXON COWELL (COMPOSER)
• BORN 1898: DOROTHY GISH (ACTRESS)

1900s

• BORN 1903: LAWRENCE WELK (BANDLEADER)

1910s

• BORN 1919: MERCER ELLINGTON (MUSICIAN)

1920s

• BORN 1926: RALPH ABERNATHY (CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER)

1930s

• BORN 1934: SAM DONALDSON (BROADCAST JOURNALIST)
• 1935: THE BANK OF CANADA OPENED AS A PRIVATELY OWNED AND GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED CORPORATION
• BORN 1936: ANTONIN SCALIA (SUPREME COURT JUSTICE)

1940s

• 1941: CONGRESS MAINTAINED U.S. NEUTRALITY IN THE WAR IN EUROPE BUT PASSED THE LEND-LEASE ACT, WHICH ENABLED ENGLAND TO BORROW AIRCRAFT, WEAPONS, AND MERCHANT SHIPS
• 1945: NAVAL UNIT COMMENDATION AWARDED TO LIGHT CRUISER U.S.S. HELENA

1950s

• BORN 1952: DOUGLAS NOEL ADAMS (AUTHOR)
• DIED 1955: OSCAR MAYER (MANUFACTURER)
• 1959: LORRAINE HANSBERRY’S PLAY, A RAISIN IN THE SUN, OPENED IN NEW YORK. IT WAS THE FIRST PLAY BY AN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN TO APPEAR ON BROADWAY

1960s

• 1960: SPACE PROBE PIONEER 5 WAS LAUNCHED FROM CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA
• 1967: FLORIDA PANTHER WAS ADDED TO THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST
• BORN 1968: LISA LOEB (MUSICIAN)
• 1969: LEVI STRAUSS BEGAN SELLING BELL-BOTTOM JEANS
• BORN 1969: TERRENCE HOWARD (ACTOR)

1970s

• DIED 1971: PHILO T. FARNSWORTH (INVENTOR)
• BORN 1979: JOEL & BENJI MADDEN (MUSICIANS)

1980s

• 1982: U.S. SENATOR HARRISON WILLIAMS RESIGNED HIS SENATE SEAT AS A RESULT OF BEING CHARGED WITH MISCONDUCT
• BORN 1982: THORA BIRCH (ACTRESS)
• 1985: MIKHAIL GORBACHEV WAS CHOSEN TO SUCCEED CHERNENKO AS GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE SOVIET COMMUNIST PARTY
• 1988: FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER ROBERT MCFARLANE PLEADED GUILTY TO WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM CONGRESS DURING IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR

2000s

• DIED 2002: JAMES TOBIN (YALE ECONOMIST AND NOBEL PRIZE WINNER)
• 2003: ANDREW ROTZ MADE 11,123 CONSECUTIVE TEXAS SKIPS IN 3 HOURS, 10 MINUTES IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

2010s

• 2011: A MAGNITUDE-9.0 EARTHQUAKE DEVASTATED JAPAN AND SPAWNED A 23-FOOT TSUNAMI. THE QUAKE MOVED HONSHU, JAPAN, 8 FEET TO THE EAST.
• DIED 2011: FRANK NEUHAUSER (IN 1925 WON THE FIRST U.S. NATIONAL SPELLING BEE WITH THE WORD “GLADIOLUS”)
• 2017: GREAT WHITE SHARK CIRCLED FISHERMAN’S KAYAK FOR OVER ONE HOUR NEAR MAUI, HAWAII

COURTESY www.almanac.com