Peter Chamberlen the elder (c.1560–1631) was a French barber-surgeon who grew up in England and worked in London.
With an interest in obstetrics, he was unusual for the time for his role as an accoucher or "man-midwife"; and came into conflict with the established College of Physicians of London.
In 1612 he was committed to Newgate prison for this offence and only released after the intercession of the Lord Mayor of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
[3] Chamberlen's wife, Anne Harris, whom he married in London in 1584, predeceased him, as did his son David (1590–1618) who died in the East Indies while serving as a ship's surgeon on the Royal James.
His daughter Esther married Thomas Cargill, an Aberdeen merchant; she and her children are all named in his will but as Chamberlen's younger son, William (1598 -) is not mentioned, it most likely he too predeceased his father.