Brown, John

1800 – He was born this year in Torrington, Connecticut.

1812 – He herded cattle for Gen. William Hull's army during the war of this year.

1820 – He married Dianthe Lusk, who bore him 7 children; 5 years later they moved to Pennsylvania to operate a tannery of their own.

1831 – His wife died this year; he wed 16-year-old Mary Anne Day, by whom he fathered 13 more children.

1855 – He followed five of his sons to Kansas to help make the state a haven for anti-slavery settlers.

1856 – He organized a militia unit within his Osawatomie River colony, he led it on a mission of revenge. On the evening of May 23 of this year, he and 6 followers, including 4 of his sons, visited the homes of pro-slavery men along Pottawatomie Creek, dragged their unarmed inhabitants into the night, and hacked them to death with long-edged swords.

1859 – He was temporarily defeated but still committed to his vision of a slave insurrection. After a sensational trial, he was found guilty of treason against Virginia and was hanged at Charlestown this year.