Broadwell Chinn was born a slave in Lexington, Kentucky in 1853. He moved to Springfield, Ohio in the 1870s when his father opened a grocery sore on Center Street.

Chinn was the first Black student to graduate from Springfield High School and from Wittenberg University. Though racism denied him admission to the public Springfield High School, the principal and several teachers tutored Chinn, allowing him to qualify for a diploma.

He was also the first Black student to apply for admittance at Wittenberg University and, after a vote of the student body of Wittenberg denied Chinn admission, Wittenberg's Board of Directors reversed the vote and admitted him to the school.

Chinn also broke racial barriers as a member of the Clark County Bar Association. His legacy lives on at Wittenberg University, where a scholarship is offered in his honor: The Broadwell Chinn Award for Multicultural Leadership.

Broadwell Chinn is buried at Ferncliff in Section F.