capen was the son of elmer hewitt capen, the third president of tufts college. he completed undergraduate studies and an m.a. at tufts. while at tufts, capen was class president, vice-president of the school's publishing association, a fraternity member and an assistant manager for the football team. he earned a second m.a. at harvard university and a ph.d. at the university of pennsylvania. during his doctoral studies, he took a one-year leave from penn to study at the university of leipzig.