CHAPIN, Stephen, clergyman, born in Milford, Massachusetts, 4 November, 1778; died 1 October, 1845. He was graduated at Harvard in 1804, and studied theology with the Rev. Nathaniel Emmons, Franklin, Massachusetts. He was ordained as a Congregational minister in 1805, but subsequently changed his views on the mode and subjects of baptism and entered the Baptist ministry, at North Yarmouth, Maine, in 1819. In 1822 he accepted the professorship of theology in Waterville (now Colby university), Maine In 1828 he was called to the presidency of Columbian College, Washington, District of Columbia, an office which he held until 1841, when he retired on account of declining health. In Washington, Dr. Chapin was intimately associated with many of the distinguished statesmen of his day. A few published sermons, tracts, and essays are all that remain to show his ability and culture. Among these are "Letters on the Mode and Subjects of Baptism "; "The Duty of Living for the Good of Posterity"; a discourse in commemoration of the second centennial of the landing of the forefathers of New England; "An Inaugural Address," which he delivered as president of Columbian College; and a letter to President Van Buren "On the Proper Disposition of the Smithsonian Bequest." He had received the degree of D.D.