Richard Chute was born on September 23, 1820, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1841, he went to work as a clerk for W. G. and G. W. Ewing, Fort Wayne, Indiana-based buyers of furs and skins. In 1844, the firm sent him to build a fur trading post along the Minnesota River about eight miles above Fort Snelling. In 1845, he became a partner with the Ewings, and the name of the firm became Ewing, Chute & Co. A few years later he became involved in the fur business with P. Choteau, Jr. & Co. In 1854, Chute moved to St. Anthony, Minnesota, where he engaged in the real estate business. He was also for many years associated with, and an owner of, the St. Anthony Falls Water Power Company. After retiring from the company in 1880, he spent time in Washington, Atlanta, Hawaii, and elsewhere. He was also an organizer of the Republican Party in Minnesota (1855), a regent of the University of Minnesota (1876-1882), a president of the Minneapolis Board of Trade (1880), and an elder in the Andrew Presbyterian Church.

In 1850, he married Mary Eliza Young (1832-1918). He died on August 1, 1893, in Chicago, Illinois.