Dwight Chapin was the President's Appointments Secretary. In addition to scheduling, Chapin was responsible for supervising Presidential advance men and acting as liaison between the White House and media consultants. The Chapin files reflect all aspects of Chapin's job.

Dwight Lee Chapin was born in Wichita, Kansas on December 2, 1940. He was a field worker on Richard Nixon’s 1962 gubernatorial campaign while he was still in college. In 1963, Chapin graduated from the University of Southern California. He was then hired as an Advertising Assistant at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency in Los Angeles, which also employed future Nixon White House Chief of Staff, H. R. Haldeman. In 1967-68, Chapin worked as a Personal Aide to Richard Nixon during his presidential campaign. After Nixon’s election victory, Chapin became Special Assistant to the President in charge of appointments and travel. He held that position from 1968 until he became Deputy Assistant to the President, serving as appointments secretary, in 1971. Chapin was named one of the year’s ten Outstanding Young Men by the United States Junior Chamber or Jaycees organization for his contribution to President Nixon’s visit to China. Chapin remained in his role as Deputy Assistant until he left the White House Staff in March 1973. He then worked as Director of market planning at United Air Lines but was convicted in 1974 of two counts of making “false material declarations” before the grand jury that investigated Richard Nixon’s 1972 presidential campaign and given a federal prison sentence. Chapin served his time at Lompoc Federal Corrections Institute from August 10, 1975 to April 2, 1976. From the time of his 1974 conviction, Chapin was in the employ of W. Clement Stone Enterprises of Chicago, Illinois. After his 1976 release from prison, Chapin became Vice President of the same company but left in 1977 to become publisher and President of Success Unlimited Magazine. He ran the magazine for two years before going to work for the international public relations firm Hill & Knowlton in 1979. In 1986, he created a new business endeavor named Chapin Enterprises. He also remained active in politics and worked on George H. W. Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign. Chapin later went on to work in East Hampton, New York as a business consultant, mentor and public speaker.

17 linear feet, 6 linear inches; 40 boxes

Most government records are in the public domain, however, this series includes commercial materials, such as newspaper clippings, that may be subject to copyright restrictions. Researchers should contact the copyright holder for information.

Collection is open for research. Some materials may be unavailable based upon categories of materials exempt from public release established in the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974.