KAY, JOHN (1742-1826), Scottish caricaturist, was born near Dalkeith, where his father was a mason. At thirteen he was apprenticed to a barber, whom he served for six years. He then went to Edinburgh, where in 1771 he obtained the freedom of the city by joining the corporation of barber-surgeons. In 1785, induced by the favour which greeted certain attempts of his to etch in aquafortis, he took down his barber’s pole and opened a small print shop in Parliament Square. There he continued to flourish, painting miniatures, and publishing at short intervals his sketches and caricatures of local celebrities and oddities, who abounded at that period in Edinburgh society. He died on the 21st of February 1826.
Kay’s portraits were collected by Hugh Paton and published under the title A series of original portraits and caricature etchings by the late John Kay, with biographical sketches and illustrative anecdotes (Edin., 2 vols. 4to, 1838; 8vo ed., 4 vols., 1842; new 4to ed., with additional plates, 2 vols., 1877), forming a unique record of the social life and popular habits of Edinburgh at its most interesting epoch.
KAY, JOSEPH (1821-1878), English economist, was born at Salford, Lancashire, on the 27th of February 1821. Educated privately and at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1848. He was appointed judge of the Salford Hundred court of record in 1862 and in 1869 was made a queen’s counsel. He is best known for a series of works on the social condition of the poor in France, Switzerland, Holland, Germany and Austria, the materials for which he gathered on a four years’ tour as travelling bachelor of his university. They were The Education of the Poor in England and Europe (London, 1846); The Social Condition of the People in England and Europe (London, 1850, 2 vols.); The Condition and Education of Poor Children in English and in German Towns (Manchester, 1853). He was also the author of The Law relating to Shipmasters and Seamen (London, 1875) and Free Trade in Land (1879, with a memoir). He died at Dorking, Surrey, on the 9th of October 1878.
KAYAK, or Cayak, an Eskimo word for a fishing boat, in common use from Greenland to Alaska. It has been erroneously derived from the Arabic caique, supposed to have been applied to the native boats by early explorers. The boat is made by covering a light wooden framework with sealskin. A hole is pierced in the centre of the top of the boat, and the kayaker (also dressed in sealskin) laces himself up securely when seated to prevent the entrance of water. The kayak is propelled like a canoe by a double-bladed paddle. The name kayak is properly only applied to the boat used by an Eskimo man—that used by a woman is called an umiak.
KAYASTH, the writer caste of Northern India, especially numerous and influential in Bengal. In 1901 their total number in all India was more than two millions. Their claim to be Kshattriyas who have taken to clerical work is not admitted by the Brahmans. Under Mahommedan rule they learnt Persian, and filled many important offices. They are now eager students of English, and have supplied not only several judges to the high court but also the first Hindu to be a member of the governor-general’s council. In Bombay their place is taken by the Prabhus, and in Assam by the Kalitas (Kolitas); in Southern India there is no distinct clerical caste.
KAYE, SIR JOHN WILLIAM (1814-1876), English military historian, was the son of Charles Kaye, a solicitor, and was educated at Eton and the Royal Military College, Addiscombe. From 1832 to 1841 he was an officer in the Bengal Artillery, afterwards spending some years in literary pursuits both in India and in England. In 1856 he entered the civil service of the East India Company, and when the government of India was transferred to the British crown succeeded John Stuart Mill as secretary of the political and secret department of the India office. In 1871 he was made a K.C.S.I. He died in London on the 24th of July 1876. Kaye’s numerous writings include History of the Sepoy War in India (London, 1864-1876), which was revised and continued by Colonel G. B. Malleson and published in six volumes in 1888-1889; History of the War in Afghanistan (London, 1851), republished in 1858 and 1874; Administration of the East India Company (London, 1853); The Life and Correspondence of Charles, Lord Metcalfe (London, 1854); The Life and Correspondence of Henry St George Tucker (London, 1854); Life and Correspondence of Sir John Malcolm (London, 1856); Christianity in India (London, 1859); Lives of Indian Officers (London, 1867); and two novels, Peregrine Pultney and Long engagements. He also edited several works dealing with Indian affairs; wrote Essays of an Optimist (London, 1870); and was a frequent contributor to periodicals.