Encyclopedia of world biography john brown

Early Years

John Brown was born on May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut, the son of an antislavery tanner. He grew up in Ohio and at age sixteen moved to Massachusetts. After failing to complete training for the ministry, he returned to Ohio and married in 1820. With his first wife, Dianthe Lusk, who died in 1832, and his second wife, Mary Day, Brown became the father of twenty children. He moved often, hoping to find financial success in Pennsylvania and Ohio before settling in New Elba, New York. As often as Brown tried a new business venture he failed, and he spent much of his time fighting off creditors.

Eventually, a quest for Christian moral purity came to consume Brown. As a young man in Ohio, he had an on-again, off-again relationship with various Congregational churches. From 1840 on he was unaffiliated with any church, although his views always remained rooted in the black-and-white theology of Calvinism. In Brown’s view, sin abounded and, in the spirit of the S

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John Brown (abolitionist)

American abolitionist (1800–1859)

John Brown
Brown in a photograph by Augustus Washington, c. 1846–1847
Born	(1800-05-09)May 9, 1800 Torrington, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	December 2, 1859(1859-12-02) (aged 59) Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia), U.S.
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Resting place	North Elba, New York, U.S. 44°15′08″N73°58′18″W / 44.252240°N 73.971799°W / 44.252240; -73.971799
Monuments	Various: Statues in Kansas City, Kansas, and North Elba, New York; Tragic Prelude, mural in the Kansas State Capitol; John Brown Farm State Historic Site, North Elba, New York; John Brown Museum and John Brown Historic Park, Osawatomie, Kansas; Museum and Statue, Akron, Ohio; John Brown Tannery Site, Guys Mills, Pennsylvania
Known for	Involvement in Bleeding Kansas; Raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
Movement	Abolitionism
Criminal charge(s)	Treason • John Brown Biography Born: May 4, 1800 Torrington, Connecticut Died: December 2, 1859 Charles Town, Virginia American abolitionist John Brown was one of the most famous abolitionists, or opponents of slavery, in history. He traveled widely to gather support and money for his cause. Many people who helped him were either unaware or did not care that he often used violence to achieve his goals. His attack on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, freed no slaves and resulted in his own trial and death. Declares "eternal war with slavery" John Brown was born at Torrington, Connecticut, on May 4, 1800, to Owen Brown and Ruth Mills Brown. His father worked as a tanner, changing animal skins into leather. A religious youth, Brown studied briefly for the ministry but quit to learn the tanner's trade. He married Dianthe Lusk in 1820, and the couple had seven children before her death in 1832. In 1833 he married Mary Ann Day, with whom he had thirtee