When John Johnson was born in 1803, in Staten Island, New York City, New York, United States, his father, William Johnson, was 23 and his mother, Catharine Martling, was 22.
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France sells Louisiana territories to U.S.A.
The United States purchased all the Louisiana territory (828,000 sq. mi) from France, only paying 15 million dollars (A quarter trillion today) for the land. In the purchase, the US obtained the land that makes up 15 US states and 2 Canadian Provinces. The United States originally wanted to purchase of New Orleans and the lands located on the coast around it, but quickly accepted the bargain that Napoleon Bonaparte offered.
At 792 feet above Broadway, the Woolworth Building became the tallest building in the world and held the record for 17 years. The Woolworth Building was overshadowed by the Chrysler Building at 1,046 feet in 1930 and the Empire State Building at 1,454 feet in 1931. Retailer and mogul Frank W. Woolworth commissioned the Woolworth Building in 1910 with the intent of his namesake building to be the tallest in the world. The 13 million dollar project was financed in cash by Woolworth which allowed him freedoms in the design and construction of the ornate, gothic building. An opening ceremony was held on April 24, 1913 at which President Woodrow Wilson pressed a button from the White House and lit the historic building in New York City.
English and Scottish: patronymic from the Middle English and Older Scots personal name Johan, Jo(h)n (see John ) + -son. It was often interchanged with Jenson and Janson . In North America, this surname has absorbed cognates from other languages, e.g. Norwegian, Danish, or North German Johnsen , Johannesen , Johannsen , Johansen , Jansen , Jantzen , and Jensen , Swedish Johnsson (see below), Johansson , Jonsson , and Jansson , Dutch Janssen , German Janz , Czech Jansa 1, and Slovenian Janša (see Jansa 2) and Janežič (see Janezic ). Johnson (including in the sense 2 below) is the second most frequent surname in the US. It is also the second most common surname among Native Americans and a very common surname among African Americans.
Americanized form (and a less common Swedish variant) of Swedish Johnsson: patronymic from the personal name John, a variant of Jon (see John ). Compare 1 above.
History: Surname Johnson was brought independently to North America by many different bearers from the 17th and 18th centuries onward. Andrew Johnson (1808–75), 17th president of the US, was born in Raleigh, NC, the younger son of Jacob Johnson and Mary (or Polly) McDonough. Little is known of his ancestors. The 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson, dates his American forebears back seven generations to James Johnston (sic) (born c. 1662) who lived at Currowaugh, Nansemond, and Isle of Wight counties, VA. — Noted early bearers also include Marmaduke Johnson (died 1674), a printer who came from England to MA in 1660; Edward Johnson (1598–1672), a colonial chronicler who was baptized at St. George's parish, Canterbury, England, and emigrated to Boston in 1630; and Sir Nathaniel Johnson (c. 1645–1713), a colonial governor of Carolina, who came from County Durham, England.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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