Henry Barton Chapin was born on September 14, 1827, in Rochester, New York.

He was a Presbyterian clergyman and educator. He graduated from Yale University, Connecticut in 1847. He also studied at Union Theological Seminary, New York City and Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey and was ordained by the Presbytery of New York in 1854. He had pastorates in Steubenville, Ohio and Trenton, New Jersey. In 1866, he was associate principal of Edgehill School, Princeton, New Jersey. In 1867, he became the proprietor and principal of the Collegiate School in New York City. The school was later renamed the Chapin Collegiate School and Dr. Chapin continued his work there until his retirement in 1903. He received an honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Princeton in 1868 and in 1891, the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him also by Princeton.

In 1854, he married Harriet Ann Smith (1834–1914). He died on July 7, 1914, in White Plains, New York.