Johnny Appleseed was an American pioneer, orchardist and nurseryman who introduced apples and apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Illinois.
Born John Chapman on September 26, 1774, in Leominster, Massachusetts while the United States were still British colonies, he became an American legend while still alive, due to his kind, generous ways, leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance he attributed to apples.
Less known is that Chapman was a traveling missionary for The New Church (also known as the Church of Swedenborg)-and a vegetarian, animal rights activist and sexual abstainer. When he set out as a young man of 18 in 1792, Chapman believed his practice of sharing apples, planting apple trees and freely giving away his knowledge demonstrated the love of Jesus Christ in action to people he met along with way.
His church believed people were called not to harm God's creation. Chapman believed grafting hurt plants and trees, which is why he only planted seeds.
According to Mental Floss magazine, frontier law at the time allowed people to claim land by developing a permanent homestead. A claim could be made by planting 50 apple trees. Once the orchards were developed, settlers would pay him for a portion of the developed land rather than invest their own time and labor to "prove a claim" themselves.
Walt Disney produced a cartoon short about Johnny Appleseed, which included the now-famous Johnny Appleseed song, learned and sung by schoolchildren for decades. Here are some of the lyrics:
The Lord's been good to me,
And so I thank the Lord
For giving me the things I need:
the sun, the rain and the apple seed.
The Lord's been good to me.
Notably, Chapman walked the land barefoot (which has been verified)and reportedly wore a tin pot on his 
head so he didn't have to carry it (which has not been verified). Chapman did not charge for apples, apple seeds, nor his horticultural advice about planting, pruning and caring for apple trees. He only later sold his apple-planted (developed) land to settlers.
The apples he planted were for making cider, not for eating. Sadly, due to Prohibition, many of Chapman's apple trees were chopped down to prevent people from making illegal booze. Although it's due to Chapman that varieties such as the Golden Delicious grew to be so hardy.
Several museums and historical sites are named in his honor, such as the Johnny Appleseed Museum in Urbana, Ohio, and the Johnny Appleseed Heritage Center in Ashland County, Ohio. There is even a a minor league baseball team in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Fort Wayne TinCaps, named in his honor. Chapman spent his final years in Fort Wayne.
Images courtesy of public domain and "A Day in First Grade".
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