Chapin, Charles Value

Chapin, Charles Value

(1856–1941) epidemiologist, public health official; born in Providence, R.I. Not caring for the private practice of medicine, he served as superintendent of health of Providence (1884–1932) and became a pioneer in public health. He started the first municipal bacteriological lab (1888), tested water filters and disinfectants, and conducted field studies to show the correlation between unsanitary conditions and disease. His field studies, hospital work, ideas and publications—including The Sources and Modes of Infection (1910) and Report on State Public Health Work (1916)—provided the foundations of the public health movement in the 20th century.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.