CAIUS, Ws, John, English physician, the founder of Caius College, Cambridge Univer sity: b. Norwich, 6 Oct. 1510; d. Cambridge,.29 July 1573. His name was Kaye or Key, which he Latinized into Caius. He took his degrees at Gonville Hall, Cambridge, and was chosen fellow of his college. While at Cambridge he distinguished himself by various translations from the classics. He spent some time in trav eling on the Continent, studied medicine at Padua, under Montanus and Vesalius, and took his doctor's degree at Bologna (1541). In 1542 he lectured at Padua on the Greek text of Aristotle, and in the following year made a tour through Italy, visiting the principal libra ries, in order to compare the manuscripts of Galen and Celsus. He returned to his native country in 1544, and practised, first at Cam bridge, then at Shrewsbury, and afterward at Norwich. He was appointed by Henry VIII lecturer on anatomy to the Company of Sur geons, London. In 1547 he became fellow of the College of Physicians, and was appointed court physician to the young King Edward VI, which appointment he retained under the queens Mary and Elizabeth. In the reign of the
latter, an exciting controversy arose between the surgeons and physicians of London, as to the right of the former to administer internal remedies for sciatica. Caius argued the nega tive so ably on behalf of the physicians that the decision was against the right of the sur geons to continue the practice of administer ing medicines. He was elected president of the College of Physicians for seven years in succes sion. There is extant a book of the college annals from 1555 to 1572 written by him in Latin, the earliest account we have of the transactions of that college. He was dismissed from the royal service in 1568 on suspicion of favoring the Catholic party. He obtained per mission to endow and raise Gonville Hall into a college, which still bears his name and Cams College), and accepted the mastership thereof. His last days were passed in the se clusion of his college. His works are numer ous, on various subjects; many of them have been reprinted in modern times. See his edited by J. S. Roberts, with memoir by J. Venn (New York 1912).