Robert Gibbon Johnson

Colonel
Robert Gibbon Johnson
His customary style was a ruffled shirt with his silvery hair in a queue.[1]
Born(1771-07-23)July 23, 1771
Salem, New Jersey, British America[1]
DiedOctober 2, 1850(1850-10-02) (aged 79)
New Haven, Connecticut, United States[1]
Resting placeSt John's Episcopal Church, Salem, NJ[1]
Alma materPrinceton[2]
Occupationgentleman farmer
Organizations
  • New Jersey Brigade
  • New Jersey Historical Society
  • New Jersey Horticultural Society
  • New Jersey State Legislature
Known forintroduction of the tomato
Notable workAn Historical Account of the First Settlement of Salem, in West Jersey[1]
Spouse(s)Hannah Carney, Juliana Zantzinger[1]
ChildrenJane, Mary, Anna, Robert[3]
Parent(s)Robert Johnson, Jane Gibbon[1]

Robert Gibbon Johnson (July 23, 1771 – October 2, 1850), also known as Colonel Johnson, was an American gentleman farmer, historian, horticulturalist, judge, soldier, and statesman who lived in Salem, New Jersey. He is especially renowned for the probably-apocryphal story that he publicly ate a basket of tomatoes at the Old Salem County Courthouse in 1820 to demonstrate that they were not poisonous like many other nightshades, as was supposedly-commonly thought at the time (tomatoes being primarily decorative plants to Westerners up to then). He was a keen antiquarian and wrote a history of Salem – An Historical Account of the First Settlement of Salem, in West Jersey – published by Orrin Rogers in 1839.

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