Selden Chapin (September 19, 1899 – March 26, 1963) was a career
foreign service officer
A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...
and United States
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
.
Biography
Selden Chapin was born in
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
, the son of Captain Frederic Lincoln Chapin (who was commander of the
battle ship Wyoming) and his wife Grace Card (Selden) Chapin. He graduated from the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
in 1919 and served in the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
from 1919 to 1925. He married Mary Paul Noyes, March 30, 1927.
He was appointed a foreign service officer in March 1925. After the liberation of Paris in August 1944, he served as Charge d'Affaires in the American Embassy in the absence of an ambassador, since France formally broke off diplomatic relations with the U.S. after the Torch Invasion of North Africa in November 1942.
Jefferson Caffery assumed the ambassadorship on 30 December 1944. Later Chapin was the U.S. ambassador to Hungary, Iran, Netherlands, Peru and Panama. Chapin and his wife are interred in
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
.
His son was
Frederic L. Chapin
Frederic Lincoln Chapin (July 13, 1929 – September 8, 1989) was a United States diplomat. He was the ambassador to Ethiopia and Guatemala.
Early life
Chapin was born in New York City on July 13, 1929. He was the son of Mary Paul (née Noyes) ...
, ambassador to Ethiopia and Guatemala. His
niece
In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of an ...
and
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
is
Hope Cooke
Hope Cooke (born June 24, 1940) was the "Gyalmo" () ( Queen Consort) of the 12th Chogyal (King) of Sikkim, Palden Thondup Namgyal. Their wedding took place in March 1963. She was termed ''Her Highness The Crown Princess of Sikkim'' and became th ...
, former wife of the last king of
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
,
Palden Thondup Namgyal
Palden Thondup Namgyal ( Sikkimese: ; Wylie: ''dpal-ldan don-grub rnam-rgyal'') (23 May 1923 – 29 January 1982) was the 12th and last Chogyal (king) of the Kingdom of Sikkim.
Biography
Palden thondup Namgyal was born on 23 May 1923 at the ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapin, Selden
1899 births
1963 deaths
Ambassadors of the United States to Iran
Ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands
Ambassadors of the United States to Panama
Ambassadors of the United States to Peru
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Chapin family
Directors General of the United States Foreign Service
People from Erie, Pennsylvania
Military personnel from Pennsylvania
United States Foreign Service personnel
20th-century American diplomats