Chauncy, Charles (b. Jan. 1, 1705, Boston, Mass.—d. Feb. 10, 1787, Boston, Mass., U.S.) American clergyman. He served as minister of the First Church of Boston from 1727 until his death. He opposed the estab¬ lishment of an Anglican bishopric in the American colonies. He is best known as a leading critic of the Great Awakening. He also wrote books, pamphlets, and sermons espousing the cause of the American Revolution.
Chausson \sho-'so n \, (Amedee-) Ernest (b. Jan. 21, 1855, Paris, France—d. June 10, 1899, Limay) French composer. He studied with Jules Massenet and Cesar Franck. Having a comfortable income, he kept a notable artistic salon in Paris and had no need for regular employment. His most important works are the orchestral song cycle Poeme de l ’amour et de la mer (1893), the incidental music to La Legende de Sainte Cecile (1891), a symphony (1890), the opera Le Roi Arthus (1895), and Poeme for violin and orchestra (1896). He died in a cycling accident.
Chautauqua \sh3-'t6-kw3\ movement Popular U.S. educational and cultural movement founded in 1874. It began as a training assembly for Sunday-school teachers at Chautauqua Lake, N.Y., but gradually spread to various circuit “chautauquas” and broadened in scope to include gen¬ eral education and popular entertainments, many of which incorporated religious themes. Outstanding speakers were brought in for summer lec¬ tures and classes. The movement declined after reaching a peak in 1924 (though the Chautauqua Institution still holds meetings), but its legacy contributed to the growth of community colleges and continuing education programs. See also Lyceum movement.
Chautemps \sho-'ta n \, Camille (b. Feb. 1, 1885, Paris, France—d. July 1, 1963, Washington, D.C., U.S.) French politician. A Radical Social¬ ist, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1919. He served in sev¬ eral cabinet posts and as premier of France in 1930, 1933-34, and 1937— 38. As a cabinet member in 1940, he was among the first to suggest the surrender of France to Nazi Germany. He held a ministry in the Vichy government (see Vichy France) but broke with Philippe Petain’s government after arriving in the U.S. on an official mission. He lived in the U.S. for much of the rest of his life. After World War II a French court convicted him in absentia for collaborating with the enemy.
Chavannes, Pierre Puvis de See Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
Chavez \'cha-,vez\ (y Ramirez), Carlos (Antonio de Padua)
(b. June 13, 1899, Mexico City, Mex.—d. Aug. 2, 1978, Mexico City) Mexican composer and conductor. Trained as a pianist, he was largely self-taught as a composer. When Mexico’s first permanent symphony orchestra was formed in 1928, he became its director; he held the post for 20 years, touring widely and conducting many premiere performances. As director of the National Conservatory (1928-34), he reformed the cur¬ riculum and organized several concert series. He was Mexico’s most prominent and honoured musician of the 20th century. His works, notable for their rhythmic vitality and orchestral colour, include seven sympho¬ nies; Sinfonia de Antigona (1933) and Sinfonia India (1936), both one- movement works on Mexican Indian themes; the highly percussive Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra (1940); and Xochipilli Macuilxo- chitl (1940) for orchestra with Indian instruments.
Chavez Vcha-vas,\ English Vchav-.ezV, Cesar (Estrada) (b. March 31, 1927, Yuma, Ariz., U.S.—d. April 23, 1993, San Luis, Ariz.) U.S. organizer and leader of migrant farmworkers. As the child of Mexican American migrant labourers, he spent his early years in a succession of migrant camps, attending school only sporadically. He spent two years in the Navy and had returned to migrant farmwork when, in 1962, he began organizing the largely Hispanic farmworkers of Arizona and California. A charismatic figure, he used strikes and nationwide boycotts to win union recognition and contracts from California grape and lettuce growers. He brought his union into the AFL-CIO, and in 1971 it became the United Farm Workers of America (UFW). He successfully battled the Teamsters
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Chavin de Huantar ► Chekhov I 381
Union for the right to organize field hands in the 1970s, but in later years his leadership faltered and the UFW declined. In recognition of his non¬ violent activism and support of working people, Chavez was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in 1994.
Chavin de Huantar \cha-'ven-tha-'wan-tar\ Site of temple ruins, west-central Peru. The ruins belong to the Chavin pre-Columbian culture, which flourished c. 900-c. 200 bc. The central building is a massive temple complex constructed of rectangular stone blocks; it contains inte¬ rior galleries and incorporates bas-relief carvings on pillars and lintels.
Chayefsky \cha-'yef-ske\, Paddy orig. Sidney Chayefsky (b.
Jan. 29, 1923, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Aug. 1, 1981, New York City) U.S. playwright. He wrote his first full-length television play in 1952, and his work became prominent in the early flowering of television drama. Known for chronicling the lives of ordinary people, he had his greatest tele¬ vision and film success with Marty (1955, Academy Award). The Catered Affair (1956) and The Bachelor Party (1957) were also well received. His stage plays include The Tenth Man (1959), Gideon (1961), and The Latent Heterosexual (1968). He returned to screenwriting with The Hospital (1971, Academy Award) and Network (1976, Academy Award).
chayote \chI-'yo-te\ Tendril-bearing perennial vine ( Sechium edule) of the gourd family, native to the New World tropics, where it is widely cul¬ tivated for its edible fruits. Chayote also is grown as an annual plant in temperate climates. The fast-growing vine bears small, white flowers and green or white pear-shaped fruits with furrows. Each fruit contains one seed. The fruits are eaten cooked or raw, and the young root tubers are prepared like potatoes.
Che-chiang See Zhejiang
Chechnya \chech-'nya, 'chech- nyo\ Republic, southwestern Russia.
Part of the Chechen-Ingush autono¬ mous republic of the former U.S.S.R., it became a republic within Russia in 1992, as did Ingushetia. It is populated mainly by Chechens, a Muslim ethnolinguistic group. Chechnya’s demand for independence from Russia in 1992 led to an invasion by Russian troops in 1994. Fighting led to severe devastation of the area, and a series of cease-fires were negotiated and violated. A pro¬ visional peace treaty was signed in May 1997, and Russian troops with¬ drew but returned in 1999; heavy fighting resumed. In 2003 a new constitution was approved that devolved greater powers to the Chechen government but kept the republic in the federation. The capital, Grozny (pop., 2002 est.: 223,000), a major oil centre with pipelines to the Cas¬ pian and Black seas, received heavy damage in the fighting.
check Bill of exchange drawn on a bank and payable on demand. Checks have become the chief form of money in the domestic commerce of devel¬ oped countries. As a written order to pay money, a check may be trans¬ ferred from one person to another by endorsement. Most checks are not paid in currency but by the debiting and crediting of bank deposits. There are several special forms of checks. A cashier’s check is issued by a bank and has unquestioned acceptability, as does a certified check, which is a depositor’s check that has been guaranteed by a bank. Traveler’s checks are cashier’s checks sold to travelers, which must be signed twice by the payee, once when the check is issued and once when it is cashed; reim¬ bursement is guaranteed if they are lost or stolen.
checkers or draughts Board game for two players, each with 12 pieces positioned on the black squares of a 64-square checkerboard. Play consists of advancing a piece diagonally forward to an adjoining square, the goal being to jump and thus capture each of an opponent’s pieces until all are removed and victory is declared. When a piece reaches the final (king) row, it is crowned with a piece of the same colour and can begin to move in any direction. Similar games have been played in various cul¬ tures and in times extending back to antiquity.