F. (Francis) Stuart Chapin
February 3, 1888 — July 7, 1974
Sociologist, university administrator, and academic entrepreneur, F. Stuart Chapin played a key role in creation of a quantitative, statistical sociology in the United States in the years between World War I and World War II (1920-40). Moving from an early interest in social evolutionism to statistics , he devised “living room scales” to measure social class by items in the home; undertook studies of civic participation as a key to social adjustment; and proposed methods for the comparative study of social situations using experiment and control groups. A theorist as well as quantifier, he proposed a cyclical view of social change, and anticipated later work on latent and manifest functions and on bureaucratic personality. Chapin also helped professionalize American sociology, being a prime mover in the creation of the Social Science Research Council and an active participant in the American Sociological Society (later Association).
 F. Stuart Chapin (1930)
F. Stuart Chapin served as the 25th President of the American Sociological Society (later renamed Association). His Presidential Address "Social Theory and Social Action" (PDF, 306 KB) was delivered on December 30, 1935 at the organization's annual meeting in New York City.
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