Senator Virgil Munday Chapman

Virgil Munday Chapman served as a Senator from Kentucky in the United States Congress from 1925 to 1951. A member of the Democratic Party, Virgil Munday Chapman contributed to the legislative process during 12 terms in office.

Virgil Munday Chapman’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, Virgil Munday Chapman participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Virgil Munday Chapman (March 15, 1895 – March 8, 1951) was an American attorney and Democratic politician who represented Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives and in the United States Senate. Chapman was born in Middleton, Kentucky, in Simpson County, near the Logan County line. He practiced law in Irvine, Kentucky, then Paris, Kentucky and Lexington, Kentucky. He was married to Mary Chapman and had one daughter, Elizabeth. In 1924 Chapman was elected to the United States House of Representatives and served two terms representing Kentucky’s 7th District. He lost his seat to Republican Robert E. Lee Blackburn in the 1928 Republican landslide as Herbert Hoover was elected president, then defeated Blackburn in 1930. He was re-elected in 1932, when Kentucky members were elected statewide at large due to loss of a seat and lack of redistricting, then was elected in the 6th District in 1934. He served through 1948, when he defeated incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. John Sherman Cooper. He died in an automobile accident in Bethesda, Maryland on March 8, 1951. Chapman was succeeded in the House and the Senate by Thomas R. Underwood, who had been editor of the Lexington Herald and managed the 1947 campaign of Gov. Earle C. Clements. Dan Quayle, William Hathaway, Henry C. Hansbrough, Jonathan Chace and Tom Udall were also succeeded by the same person in both the House and Senate.