Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

John Jay Chapman Lawyer

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: Mar 2, 1862
  • Died: Nov 4, 1933

John Jay Chapman (March 2, 1862 - November 4, 1933) was an American author.

He was born in New York City. His father, Henry Grafton Chapman, was a broker who eventually became president of the New York Stock Exchange. His grandmother, Maria Weston Chapman, was one of the leading campaigners against slavery and worked with William Lloyd Garrison on The Liberator. He was educated at St. Paul's School, Concord and Harvard, and after graduating in 1885, Chapman traveled around Europe before returning to study at the Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1888, and practiced law until 1898. Meanwhile he had attracted attention as an essayist of unusual merit. His work is marked by originality and felicity of expression, and the opinion of many critics has placed him in the front rank of the American essayists of his day.

In 1887 Chapman assaulted a man for insulting his girlfriend, Minna Timmins. He punished himself for this act by putting his left hand into fire. It was so badly burnt he had to have it amputated.

The world of politics is always twenty years behind the world of thought. politics

Politics is organized hatred, that is unity. politics

Good government is the outcome of private virtue. government