Winfield Scott Chaplin was born in Maine in 1847 and graduated from West Point in 1870 as a second lieutenant of artillery.

He served as dean of the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard for six years before being named Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis at age 43.

He brought key figures onto the board of directors who would have lasting influence on the University, most notably Samuel Cupples, Adolphus Busch, and Robert S. Brookings.

After 16 years at the University, Chaplin moved to the southwest to lead the American Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Company.

Following his years as Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Tokyo, he was awarded the Imperial Order of Meiji in 1882.