Winfield Scott Chaplin (1847 – March 12, 1918) was the chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis from 1891 until 1907.

Early life

He was born in Maine in 1847 and graduated from West Point in 1870 as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

of artillery. After resigning in 1872, he held a number of academic positions in civil and mechanical engineering; including

Maine State College The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classified ...

, Imperial University in Tokyo, Harvard University, and Union College. He served as dean of the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard for six years before being named Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis at age 43.

Washington University in St. Louis

During his tenure, Washington University in St. Louis moved from downtown St. Louis to the Hilltop Campus (now known as the Danforth Campus) on the western edge of

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. The St. Louis Medical College joined the University as did Missouri Dental College. The University awarded its first Ph.D. during Chaplin's administration. He brought key figures onto the board of directors who would have lasting influence on the University, most notably Samuel Cupples, Adolphus Busch, and

Robert S. Brookings Robert Somers Brookings (January 22, 1850 – November 15, 1932) was an American businessman and philanthropist, known for his involvement with Washington University in St. Louis and his founding of the Brookings Institution. Early life Robert ...

Later years

After 16 years at the University, Chaplin moved to the southwest to lead the American Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Company. He later moved to San Antonio, Texas, where he served as president of the Academy of Science. He returned to St. Louis in 1917 and died the following year.

Honors

Following his years as Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Tokyo, he was awarded the

Imperial Order of Meiji The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest tw ...

in 1882.Rossiter, Johnson, ed. (1904) "Chaplin, Winfield Scott"
''The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans,'' Vol. II (''n.b., not paginated'').

References

* Rossiter, Johnson, ed. (1904)
''The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans''
Vol. II. Boston: The Biographical Society.

External links

Washington University in St. Louis
at Washington University in St. Louis {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaplin, Winfield Scott 1847 births 1918 deaths Chancellors of Washington University in St. Louis People from Bangor, Maine Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences faculty University of Maine faculty Academic staff of the University of Tokyo Union College (New York) faculty Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Washington University in St. Louis faculty