CAMPER, kam'per, Pieter, Dutch anat omist: b. Leyden, 11 May 1722; d. The Hague, 7 April 1789. He distinguished himself in an atomy, surgery, obstetrics and medical juris prudence, and also as a writer on msthetics. From 1750 to 1755 he was professor of medi cine at Franker, and from the latter year to 1763 at Amsterdam. Henceforth till his resig nation in 1773 he held a professorship at Gro ningen. His 'Dissertation on the Natural Va rieties,' etc., is the first work in which was thrown much light on the varieties of the human species, which the author distinguishes by the shape of the skull. His 'Treatise on the Nat ural Difference of Features in Persons of Vari ous Countries and Ages,) and one on 'Beauty as Exhibited in Ancient Paintings and Engrav ings,' followed by a method of delineating va rious sorts of heads with accuracy, is intended to prove that the rules laid down by the most celebrated limners and painters are very de fective. His general doctrine is, that the dif
ference in form and cast of countenance pro ceeds from the facial angle. His collected writings were published under the title qui ont pour objet l'histoire naturelle, la physiologic et Canatomie compare& (3 vols., Paris 1803).
(Dutch, Camperduin), Holland, a stretch of sandy hills or downs in the province of North Holland, between the North Sea and the small village of Camp, off which the British, under Admiral Duncan, gained a hard-won victory over the Dutch, under De Winter, 11 Oct. 1797. For this victory Ad miral Duncan was raised to the peerage as Viscount Duncan of Camperdown. His son became Earl of Camperdown, and this title still belongs to a descendant.