James Paul Chapin (July 9, 1889 – April 5, 1964) was an American

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and curator of the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

Biography

Chapin is one of the highest-regarded ornithologists of the twentieth century. He was joint leader (with

Herbert Lang Herbert Lang (March 24, 1879 – May 29, 1957) was a German zoologist. Lang was born in Oehringen, Württemberg, Germany. His childhood interest in nature led to a job as a taxidermist and later work at the natural history museum at the Univers ...

) of the Lang–Chapin expedition, which made a biological survey of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

between 1909 and 1915. For his work ''The Birds of the Belgian Congo, Part I'', he was awarded the

Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal The Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for meritorious work in zoology or paleontology study published in a three to five year period." Named after Daniel Giraud Elliot, it was first awarded in 1917. L ...

from the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 1932. He received a bachelor's degree in 1916, master's degree in 1917, and a doctorate in 1932, all from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and then began a lengthy career at the

. Chapin served as the 17th president of

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for ex ...

from 1949 to 1950.

Intelligence officer in the Congo

In 1942, Chapin was recruited by the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy obj ...

as an intelligence officer. Under the cover of special assistant to the US consul based in

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million ...

, Chapin took the code name CRISP and reported back military and economic information. According to Susan Williams, he was "evidently more comfortable bird-watching than spy-watching" and was withdrawn from the Congo after a while. He was then admitted at a psychiatric clinic, was finally discharged in September 1943 and went back home. He resumed his functions at the American Museum of Natural History in October 1943.

Legacy

Chapin is commemorated in the scientific names of three species of African reptiles: '' Ichnotropis chapini'', '' Pelusios chapini'', and ''

Trioceros chapini ''Trioceros chapini'', also known commonly as Chapin's chameleon, the gray chameleon, and the grey chameleon, is a species of lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is native to Central Africa. Etymology The specific name, ''chapini ...

''. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Chapin", pp. 51–52). Chapin returned to the Belgian Congo in 1953 to continue fieldwork which he had started more than half a century earlier. When asked about his most famous discovery, he mentioned the

Congo peafowl The Congo peafowl (''Afropavo congensis''), also known as the African peafowl or ''mbulu'' by the Bakôngo, is a species of peafowl native to the Congo Basin. It is one of three peafowl species and the only member of the subfamily Pavoninae na ...

, adding that he had obtained a feather from this hitherto unknown bird from a pygmy on one of his expeditions, but had never seen the bird. It was unknown to science. Years later he was able to identify it as the rare Congo peafowl.

References

External links

* * 1889 births 1964 deaths American curators American ornithologists People from Staten Island People associated with the American Museum of Natural History Scientists from New York (state) 20th-century American zoologists {{US-ornithologist-stub Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni