Howard Irving Chapelle (1901 – 1975) was curator of
maritime history at the
Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C.. In addition, he authored many books and articles books on maritime history and marine architecture.
Biography
From 1919, Chapelle worked as a marine apprentice and designer for a number of shipbuilders. After 1936, he went into business for himself, and later served as head of the
New England section of the
Historic American Merchant Marine Survey, a
New Deal project designed to research American naval history and staffed by unemployed marine architects.
During
World War II, Chapelle served in the
United States Army Transportation Corps ship and boatbuilding program. In 1950, he ventured to
England where he researched colonial ship design on a
Guggenheim fellowship. In 1956/57, he served the
United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization as a consultant on fishing boat construction to the
government of Turkey. Upon returning to America, he was appointed Division of Transportation curator of the
National Museum of History and Technology. Ten years later, in 1967, he stepped down as curator to assume the role of Senior Historian. He retired in 1971, accepting the title of Historian Emeritus.
Works
Chapelle was a small-boat enthusiast and sailor. He felt that inexpensive yachts based on traditional workboats were the most practical way to go sailing and designed a number of small boats. His article on a 14-foot is typical of many of his articles.
His book
American Small Sailing Craft (1951) is considered the classic among small-boat builders and historians. In it he documented many fast-vanishing working boats.
His other books include:
- Boatbuilding: A Complete Handbook of Wooden Boat Construction (1941) W.W. Norton & Company Inc.
- The History of American Sailing Ships
- The History of the American Sailing Navy: The Ships and Their Development, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. (1949), ISBN 1568522223.
- The Search for Speed Under Sail: 1700-1855 (1967) W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
- The American Fishing Schooners 1825-1935 (1973) W. W. Norton & Company Inc., ISBN 0-393-03123-3
