| Reuben Chapman | |
| Order1: | 13th |
| Office1: | Governor of Alabama |
| Term Start1: | December 16, 1847 |
| Term End1: | December 17, 1849 |
| Predecessor1: | Joshua L. Martin |
| Successor1: | Henry W. Collier |
| State2: | Alabama |
| District2: | 6th |
| Term Start2: | March 4, 1843 |
| Term End2: | March 3, 1847 |
| Preceded2: | District inactive |
| Succeeded2: | Williamson Robert Winfield Cobb |
| State3: | Alabama |
| District3: | at-large |
| Term Start3: | March 4, 1841 |
| Term End3: | March 3, 1843 |
| Preceded3: | District inactive |
| Succeeded3: | District inactive |
| State4: | Alabama |
| District4: | 1st |
| Term Start4: | March 4, 1835 |
| Term End4: | March 3, 1841 |
| Preceded4: | Clement Comer Clay |
| Succeeded4: | District inactive |
| Birth Date: | 15 July 1799 |
| Birth Place: | Bowling Green, Virginia, U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
Reuben Chapman (July 15, 1799 – May 17, 1882) was an American lawyer and politician. He served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1835 to 1847, and as the 13th Governor of Alabama from 1847 to 1849.
Born on July 15, 1799, in Bowling Green, Virginia, he moved to Alabama in 1824, where he established a law practice.
He represented Alabama in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1835, to March 3, 1847, and served as the 13th Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1847 to 1849.
While a member of the House of Representatives, he had a very contentious relationship with the French ambassador, Louis Adolphe Aimé Fourier, comte de Bacourt. In 1844 the ambassador had made remarks towards him, and Virginia congressman George W. Hopkins, and Chapman challenged Louis Adolphe Aimé Fourier, comte de Bacourt to a duel. However, the French ambassador backed down. That same year the French ambassador also offended Virginia congressman Lewis Steenrod, though it is unknown precisely what words were exchanged. Chapman and Hopkins grew so hostile towards the French ambassador that in 1846, President James K. Polk eventually asked the French government to send Monsieur Fourier home and select a new ambassador to the United States.[1]
He died in Huntsville, Alabama on May 17, 1882.