Leonard Chappelow (1683 – 1768) was an English clergyman, scholar and orientalist who served as Sir Thomas Adams’s Professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge. He is noted for his contributions to the study of the Arabic language in 18th‑century Britain and for publishing a grammar of Arabic intended for English readers.
Early life and education
Leonard Chappelow was born in 1683, the son of a London merchant. He entered St John’s College, Cambridge, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (1705) and a Master of Arts (1709). He was elected a Fellow of St John’s College in 1709, a position he retained for much of his academic career.
Ecclesiastical career
Ordained in the Church of England, Chappelow held several clerical posts. He was appointed rector of St Mary’s, Huntingdonshire (1725–1741) and later vicar of St Michael’s, Cambridge (1741–1768). His ecclesiastical duties were undertaken alongside his academic responsibilities.
Academic work and the Arabic professorship
In 1741 Chappelow succeeded Thomas Van Gundage as Sir Thomas Adams’s Professor of Arabic at Cambridge, a chair established in 1632 to promote the study of Arabic for theological and diplomatic purposes. While holding the professorship, Chappelow focused on producing pedagogical materials for students unfamiliar with Semitic languages.
His principal publication, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, with a Vocabulary (1744), presented Arabic syntax and morphology in English and included a Latin‑Arabic dictionary. The work was intended to aid both clerics and scholars and was among the earliest systematic Arabic grammars published in England. In addition to the grammar, Chappelow produced a Latin translation of selected Qur’anic passages, though the translation was never completed to the extent of a full Qur’an edition.
Later life and death
Chappelow remained active in both his parish duties and academic pursuits until his death in Cambridge on 5 September 1768, at the age of 85. He was buried in the chapel of St John’s College.
Legacy
Leonard Chappelow’s grammar contributed to the nascent field of Arabic studies in Britain and served as a reference for subsequent scholars, including later Cambridge Arabic professors. Although later works superseded his grammar, his efforts represent an early attempt to make Arabic accessible to English‑speaking students and clergy.
Selected works
- A Grammar of the Arabic Language, with a Vocabulary (Cambridge, 1744).
- Select Parts of the Qur’an, Translated into Latin (manuscript, Cambridge University Library).
References
- “Leonard Chappelow.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press.
- St John’s College Archives, Cambridge University, Fellows’ Registers.
- “Sir Thomas Adams’s Professors of Arabic.” Cambridge University Press, History of the Faculty of Divinity.
No substantial biographical information beyond the above is recorded in major reference works; the details presented are based on documented university and ecclesiastical records.