Roy Dikeman Chapin Sr. (February 23, 1880 – February 16, 1936) was an American industrialist and a co-founder of Hudson Motor Company, the predecessor of

American Motors Corporation American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the mergers and acquisitions, merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 19 ...

. He also served as the

United States secretary of commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

from August 8, 1932, to March 3, 1933, during the final months of the administration of President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

Early life

Chapin was born on February 23, 1880, in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

, the son of Edward Cornelius Chapin and Ella Rose King. He attended Lansing High School. He enrolled at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, but left in 1901 to take position with Olds Motor Works in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. In 1914, Chapin married the former Inez Tiedeman, the daughter of George Tiedeman, former mayor of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

(1907–1913). The couple had six children. One son, Roy D. Chapin Jr., would also pursue a career with Hudson Motor Company and eventually leading

(AMC).

Commercial interests

Herbert Hoover at Nine-Point Prosperity Conference cph

Chapin was general sales manager of Olds Motor Works from 1904 to 1906. He then started E. R. Thomas-Detroit Company with Edward R. Thomas, and was its treasurer and general manager from 1906 to 1908. Chapin headed the consortium of businessmen and engineers that founded the

Hudson Motor Car Company The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other branded automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., from 1909 until 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). The Hudson name was continued through ...

in 1908. The company was named for

merchant Joseph L. Hudson, who provided the majority of capital for the operation's start-up. Chapin was also behind the 1918 formation of the Essex Motors Company, a subsidiary of Hudson. Essex is notable for developing the first affordable mass-produced enclosed automobile in 1922. Because of the success of the inexpensive enclosed Essex Coach line, the American automobile industry shifted away from open

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...

s in order to meet consumer demand for all-weather passenger vehicles. By 1929 Hudson-Essex reached 3rd in industry sales behind Chevrolet and Ford. In 1927 he replaced Clifton as the head of the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce. In addition to his corporate interests, Chapin spearheaded the drive to build the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

, along with Henry B. Joy of

Packard Packard (formerly the Packard Motor Car Company) was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana, in 1958. One ...

Motors. While Chapin viewed a system of professionally designed and built roadways as the greatest way to grow the automobile industry, he also saw the modern roadways movement as a way to secure long-range strength for the United States as a nation.

Political activities

After building Hudson into one of the most profitable independent American automobile manufacturers, Chapin left Hudson for the Hoover administration upon his appointment in 1932. During his tenure as secretary of commerce, Chapin was unsuccessful in persuading

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...

to provide financial help to avoid the collapse of the Union Guardian Trust Company of

. Ford's refusal to aid the bank in averting a financial failure led to the Michigan Bank Holiday, an event that began a series of state bank holidays and ultimately to the passage of Roosevelt administration's

Emergency Banking Act __NOTOC__ The Emergency Banking Relief Act (E.B.R.A.), (), was an act passed by the United States Congress in March 1933 in an attempt to stabilize the banking system. Bank holiday Beginning on February 14, 1933, Michigan, an industrial sta ...

of 1933.

Death

Chapin returned to Hudson in March 1933. His final three years were spent trying to save the company from the effects of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. He died in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, on February 16, 1936. He was succeeded at Hudson by A.E. Barit. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Legacy

In 1927, Chapin commissioned noted architect

John Russell Pope John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an American architecture, architect whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 193 ...

to design a residence for his family at 447 Lake Shore Road in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Pope later designed the Jefferson Memorial,

National Archives Building The National Archives Building, known informally as Archives I, is the headquarters of the United States National Archives and Records Administration. It is located north of the National Mall at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.), Penn ...

and

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Bryant Fleming landscaped the grounds which included 600-year-old yews imported from England. Mrs. Chapin occupied the residence until her death in 1956 when

Henry Ford II Henry Ford II (September 4, 1917 – September 29, 1987), commonly known as Hank the Deuce, was an American businessman in the automotive industry. He was the oldest son of Edsel Ford I and oldest grandson of Henry Ford. He served as president ...

and wife Anne purchased the property. Ford owned the estate until 1983 when he demolished the house and divided the land to construct condominiums. In 1954,

Nash Kelvinator Nash-Kelvinator Corporation was the result of a merger in 1937 between Nash Motors and Kelvinator Appliance Company. The union of these two companies was brought about as a result of a condition made by George W. Mason prior to his appointment ...

acquired Hudson in a friendly merger. The resulting company,

(AMC), continued operation until

Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...

acquired it in 1987. Chapin's son, Roy D. Chapin Jr., served as chairman and chief executive officer of AMC and led the automaker to the acquisition of Kaiser

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

Corporation in 1970. Chapin was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1972. His grandson, William R. Chapin, was named president of the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2010.

References

External links

* * The Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan has a collection of Chapin's paper
link
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapin, Roy D. 1880 births 1936 deaths Chapin, Robert "Roy" Dikeman Hoover administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians Businesspeople from Lansing, Michigan Hotchkiss School alumni University of Michigan alumni Hudson Motor Car Company American founders of automobile manufacturers Michigan Republicans Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit)