John Jay Chapman (March 2, 1862 – November 4, 1933) was an American author. He was born in New York City on March 2, 1862.
He was educated at St. Paul’s School, Concord and Harvard, and after graduating in 1884, Chapman traveled around Europe before returning to study at the Harvard Law School.
He 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 1912, Chapman gave a speech in which he called the lynching “one of the most dreadful crimes in history” and said “our whole people are…involved in the guilt.” It was published as A Nation’s Responsibility.