David C. Chapman
| David Carpenter Chapman | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 9, 1876 Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Died | July 26, 1944 (aged 67) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Buried at | Highland Memorial Cemetery; Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1898–1918 |
| Rank |
 Colonel
|
| Unit | Third Tennessee Volunteer Infantry |
| Commands held | Fifth Tennessee Regiment – Tennessee National Guard (Later Fourth Tennessee Regiment. 1917–18.) |
| Other work | Later led the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. |
David Carpenter Chapman (9 August 1876 – 26 July 1944) was an American soldier, politician, and business leader from Knoxville, Tennessee who led the effort to establish the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the 1920s and 1930s. Mount Chapman (in the park) and Chapman Highway (the section of U.S. Route 441 in South Knoxville), are named in his honor.
Chapman was born in Knoxville to John Ellis and Alice Young Chapman. He attended the University of Tennessee from 1895 to 1897, but did not graduate. Despite not graduating, Chapman did play football for Tennessee.
In the Spanish–American War, Chapman served as a Second Lieutenant in the Third Tennessee Volunteer Infantry and was the Aide-de-Camp to Brigadier General L.W. Colby. When the United States entered World War I, Governor Thomas Clark Rye selected Chapman to reorganize East Tennessee National Guard, now part of the Tennessee Military Department. Chapman later became Colonel in the Fifth Tennessee Regiment, later renamed to Fourth Tennessee Regiment, before resigning on 20 November 1918.
Chapman's father, John, began a wholesale drug company in Knoxville which David took over after his father's death. In 1910 and 1911, Knoxville hosted the Appalachian Expositions, in which Chapman served on the Board of Directors for both events. The purpose of both expositions was to raise awareness of natural resources of the Southern Appalachian region in the United States. Chapman, as a leader of the "Appalachian Club" (a recreational society for people with summer homes in Elkmont), became involved in the effort to create a national park in the Great Smoky Mountains. Additionally, Chapman was also active in various social clubs, civic clubs, and fraternal organizations in the Knoxville area.
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