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Selden Chapin (September 19, 1899 – March 26, 1963) was a career foreign service officer and United States diplomat.
Selden Chapin
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Selden Chapin in the Netherlands in 1951
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| Born | September 19, 1899
Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Died | March 26, 1963 |
| Burial place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | United States Naval Academy |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
| Spouse | Mary Paul Noyes (m. 1927) |
| Children | Frederic L. Chapin |
| Relatives | Hope Cooke (niece and ward) |
Selden Chapin was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, 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 in 1919 and served in the U.S. Navy 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.[1]
His son was Frederic L. Chapin, ambassador to Ethiopia and Guatemala, and his daughter was Middle East analyst Helen Chapin Metz. His niece and wardisHope Cooke, former wife of the last king of Sikkim, Palden Thondup Namgyal.[2]
Miss Cooke will be accompanied to Gangtok by her aunt, Mrs. Selden Chapin, wife of the former U.S. Ambassador to Persia.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
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| Preceded by | Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Hungary 1947–1949 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to the Netherlands October 27, 1949 – October 30, 1953 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Panama January 2, 1954 – May 29, 1955 |
Succeeded by Julian F. Harrington |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Iran 1955–1958 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Peru May 7, 1960 – August 7, 1960 |
Succeeded by |