Cornelius Warren ("Chip") Grafton (1909–1982) was an American crime novelist. He was born and raised in China, where his parents were working as missionaries. He was educated in Clinton, South Carolina, studying law and journalism, and became a municipal bond attorney in Louisville, Kentucky.The hero of his first two mystery novels (The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope and The Rope Began to Hang the Butcher) was a lawyer named Gilmore Henry.