1722-1789

Dutch naturalist who investigated how head shape might affect mental development. Camper won particular renown for "Camper's angle," the angle made by a line drawn from the chin to the forehead. According to Camper, the more vertical this line was, the more highly developed the person. Camper's facial angle would become part of the study of phrenology (the study of head shapes), now discredited as a scientific discipline.