Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Chappelow, Leonard
CHAPPELOW, LEONARD (1683–1768), orientalist, born in 1683, of a Yorkshire family, was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge; proceeded B.A. in 1712, M.A. in 1716; became fellow of St. John's in Jan. 1716-7, in the room of an ejected nonjuring fellow named Tomkinson, and in 1720 was appointed professor of Arabic in succession to Ockley. He resigned his fellowship in 1731, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the mastership of St. John's College in 1784. He published an annotated edition of the well-known Dr. Spencer's 'De legibus Hebræorum ritualibus' (1727, 2 vols. folio); 'Elementa Linguæ Arabicæ' (after Erpenius), 1730; 'Commentary on the Book of Job,' 1752, 2 vols. folio (where the view is advanced that the Book of Job was originally an Arabic poem, subsequently translated into Hebrew); a free translation of 'The Traveller,' or the 'Lamiyat al-'Ajam' (1758, 4to), from the Arabic of Toghrai, intended to represent the metre of the original; and 'Six Assemblies' of El Hariri (1767, 8vo), with useful notes. He also edited Bishop Bull's 'Two Sermons' on the state of the soul after death, with a preface (1765). He lectured on oriental tongues during one term of each academic year, and held the livings of Great and Little Hormead, Hertfordshire. He died 13 Jan. 1768.
[Cole's Athenæ, MS. Brit. Mus.; Biog. Brit., art. 'Spencer;' Chalmers's Biog. Dict.; Baker's St. John's Coll. (ed. Mayor).]
Dictionary of National Biography, Errata (1904), p.62
N.B.— f.e. stands for from end and l.l. for last line
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| 61 | i | 21 | Chappelow, Leonard: after Ockley insert combining with this the Lord Almoner's professorship of Arabic from 1729 |