Chamberlain, Wilt(on Norman) (b. Aug. 21, 1936, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d. Oct. 12, 1999, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. basketball player, one of the greatest offensive players in basketball history. The 7-ft 1-in. (2.16-m) Chamberlain played two years (1956-58) for the University of Kansas. “Wilt the Stilt” later played centre for the Philadelphia (later Golden State) Warriors (1959-65), the Philadelphia 76ers (1965-68), and the Los Angeles Lakers (1968-73). In the 1961-62 season he became the first player to score more than 4,000 points in regular-season NBA games, including a record 100 points in a single game (1962). He led the NBA in scoring seven consecutive years (1959-65) and in rebounding 11 times. He ranks first in career rebounds (23,924) and career rebounding average (22.9 per game).
Chamberlain's Men or Lord Chamberlain's Men English the¬ atrical company, the most important in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. It was based at the Globe Theatre from 1599 to 1608. In 1603 it was taken under royal patronage as the King’s Men. William Shakespeare was con¬ nected with the company for most of his career; it also presented works by Ben Jonson, Thomas Dekker, and Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It ceased to exist when the theatres were closed at the outbreak of the English Civil Wars in 1642.
V
Charles Chamberlain, 1925
COURTESY OF THE HARSHBERGER COLLECTION, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, PHILADELPHIA, AND THE HUNT INSTITUTE, PITTSBURGH
Joseph Chamberlain, detail of an oil painting by Frank Holl, 1886; in the National Portrait Gallery, London
COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
370 I Chamberlen ► Champlain
Chamberlen, Hugh (b. 1630, London, Eng.—d. c. 1720, London) British midwife. He was grandnephew of Peter Chamberlen the Elder (1560-1631), who invented the obstetrical forceps. A midwife to Cathe¬ rine, queen of Charles II of England, Hugh Chamberlen used his position to exploit his use of the forceps, previously a family secret, and referred to them in the preface to his translation of a French treatise on midwifery, a standard in obstetrics for 75 years. Near the end of his life, he sold his secret to a Dutch surgeon.
Chambers, Robert and William (respectively b. July 10, 1802, Peebles, Tweeddale, Scot.—d. March 17, 1871, St. Andrews, Fifeshire; b. 1800, Peebles—d. 1883) Scottish publishers. Robert, who began business as a bookstall keeper in Edinburgh, wrote historical, literary, and geologi¬ cal works. In 1832 the brothers started Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal, which led to the establishment of the publishing firm W. & R. Chambers, Ltd. Their Chambers’s Encyclopaedia (1859-68) was based on a trans¬ lation of the German Konversations-Lexikon. Considered scholarly and reliable on historical subjects, the encyclopaedia has gone through sev¬ eral editions, but the lack of a continuous revision system has led to the dating of much of its material.
Chambers, (David) Whittaker orig. Jay Vivian Chambers (b.
April 1, 1901, Philadelphia—d. July 9, 1961, near Westminster, Md., U.S.) U.S. journalist and principal figure in the Alger Hiss case. He joined the Communist Party in 1923 and worked at various times as an editor at New Masses, The Daily Worker, and Time magazine. In testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee in August 1948, he named former State Department official Alger Hiss as a fellow member of a 1930s Communist spy ring. Hiss denied the charges and sued Chambers for slander. In the trials that followed. Chambers produced material he claimed Hiss had given him to pass along to Soviet agents. His autobi¬ ography, Witness, was published in 1952.
Chambord \sha n -'bor\, Henri Dieudonne d'Artois, count de
(b. Sept. 29, 1820, Paris, France—d. Aug. 24, 1883, Frohsdorf, Austria) French nobleman, last heir of the elder branch of the house of Bourbon and, as Henry V, pretender to the French throne from 1830. Son of the duke de Berry, he was forced to flee France in 1830 when his grandfa¬ ther, Charles X, abdicated and Louis-Philippe seized the throne. In 1870, after the fall of Napoleon III, Chambord invited France to reunite under the Bourbons. For a time the restoration of the monarchy seemed possible, but Chambord’s hostility toward the principles of the French Revolution undermined his support.
chameleon Any member of a group of Old World, primarily tree¬ dwelling lizards in the family Chamaeleontidae, characterized chiefly by their ability to change body colour. Other traits include toes fused into opposite bundles of two and three, teeth attached to the jaw edge, and a long, slender, extensile tongue. About half of the 89 species are found only in Madagascar; the others live mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. A few are found elsewhere. Most are 7-10 in. (17-25 cm) long, with a body flattened from side to side. The bulged eyes move independently. Each species can undergo a particular range of colour change. Insects are the main diet, but larger species also eat birds.
chamomile Vka-mo-.mlL Any of the more than 100 species of Eur¬ asian herbs that make up the genus Anthemis, in the composite family; also, a similar plant in the genus Chamaemelum of the same family.
Both genera have yellow or white ray flowers and yellow disk flowers.
Several Anthemis species are culti¬ vated as ornamentals, especially golden marguerite, or yellow cham¬ omile (A. tinctoria ). The strong¬ smelling mayweed ( A . cotula) has been used in medicines and insecti¬ cides. Chamomile tea, used as a tonic and an antiseptic as well as in herbal remedies, is made from C. nobile, or A. nobilis.
Chamorro \cha-'mor-ro\, Violeta (Barrios de) (b. Oct. 18, 1929, Rivas province, Nic.) President of Nicaragua (1990-96). Bom into a wealthy family, she married the publisher of La Prensa, a newspaper that opposed the Anastasio Somoza dictatorship (see Somoza family). After her
husband was assassinated in 1978, she took his place as publisher. When the Sandinistas overthrew Somoza, she served briefly on a ruling civilian junta, but her newspaper soon became critical of Daniel Ortega and sup¬ portive of U.S. policies, which included extensive support for the anti- Sandinista contras. Advocating an end to military and economic conflicts with the U.S., she was elected president in 1990. Her presidency was troubled by continuing deep political divisions and the significant power still held by the Sandinistas.
Chamoun Vsham-'iinV Camille (Nimer) also spelled Kamil ShanVun (b. April 3, 1900, Dayr al-Qamar, Leb.—d. Aug. 7, 1987, Beirut) President of Lebanon (1952-58). He reorganized government departments to increase efficiency and allowed the press and opposition groups considerable freedom. International tensions rose in 1956 when he refused to break relations with Britain and France over the Suez Crisis. In 1958, when Syria and Egypt formed the short-lived United Arab Repub¬ lic, he refused pleas from Lebanon’s Muslims to join. Armed rebellion broke out, and Chamoun did not seek a second presidential term. He held ministerial posts during the Lebanese civil war (1975—91).
Champa Ancient kingdom, Southeast Asia. Occupying a region now part of central Vietnam, it was formed in the 2nd century ad during the breakup of China’s Han dynasty when the Han official in charge of the region established his own kingdom around present-day Hue. Coming under Indian cultural influence, it withstood over the next several centu¬ ries attacks from China, Java, Vietnam, and the Khmer empire. By the late 15th century, incessant wars had led to its demise.
Champagne \sham-'pan\ Historical and cultural region, northeastern France. The terrain is interrupted by low hills and by the Marne River val¬ ley. It was an important medieval French county held by the houses of Vernandois, Blois, and Navarra. In the 12th and 13th centuries it was the site of six great trade fairs and was a banking centre for all of Europe. Conflicts between the counts of Champagne and the kings of France ended with the marriage (1286) of Joan of Navarra and Champagne to King Philip IV of France, and Champagne was united with the French crown in 1314. As a frontier region, it was frequently invaded; it was the site of fierce battles in World Wars I and II. The region is famous for its wines.