Dio Cassius (Cassius Dio Cocceianus), c.155-235?, Roman historian and administrator, b. Nicaea in Bithynia. He was a grandson of Dio Chrysostom. His rise in civil and military office was steady; he became a senator (c.180), praetor (193), consul (220?), proconsul in Africa (224), legate in Dalmatia (226), legate in Pannonia (227), and consul again (229). He was a good commander, but he remained in favor more for his literary works than for his abilities in office. His great work, partially extant, was a history of Rome (written in Greek) from the earliest times until Dio Cassius' own period. Of the original 80 books, 19 survive in full. They are a reputable source for the period of the later republic and the first two centuries A.D. Dio Cassius tried earnestly to study all available sources in the light of a moderate skepticism.

Clay, Cassius Marcellus, Jr.: see Ali, Muhammad.

Clay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903, American politician and diplomat, b. Madison co., Ky. Although he came from a slaveholding family, Clay early came to abhor the institution of slavery. In 1845 he established at Lexington, Ky., the True American, an abolitionist paper. His press was moved by his enemies to Cincinnati, and he continued its publication there and at Louisville. He served as a captain in the Mexican War and was captured and for a time imprisoned. In 1851 he was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Kentucky on an antislavery ticket; he captured enough votes, however, to cause the defeat of the Whig candidate and thus hastened the collapse of the Whigs in Kentucky. He was minister to Russia (1861-62, 1863-69) and served briefly in the Civil War as a major general of volunteers.

Cassius Dio Cocceianus: see Dio Cassius.

Cassius, ancient Roman family. There were a number of well-known members. Spurius Cassius Viscellinus, d. c.485 B.C., seems to have been consul several times. In 493 B.C. he negotiated a treaty establishing equal military assistance between Rome and the Latin cities. In 486 he proposed that land be distributed equally among the Roman and the Latin poor (see agrarian laws). It is said that the patricians, outraged at the suggestion, accused Cassius of royal aspirations and had him executed. A descendant, Quintus Cassius Longinus, d. 45 B.C., won a reputation for greed and corruption when he was a quaestor in Spain (54 B.C.). He and Antony, as tribunes in 49 B.C., vetoed the attempts of the senate to deprive Julius Caesar of his army. When the senate overrode the tribunes on Jan. 7, 49 B.C., Cassius and Antony fled to Caesar, who crossed the Rubicon and began the civil war. After Caesar's triumph, Cassius was given (47 B.C.) a post in Farther Spain. There was a rebellion against him, and Caesar had to come from Italy to put it down. Cassius died in a shipwreck. Best known of all was Caius Cassius Longinus, d. 42 B.C., leader in the successful conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar. He fought as a quaestor under Marcus Licinius Crassus (see under Crassus, family) at Carrhae in 53 B.C. and saved what was left of the army after the battle. He supported Pompey against Caesar but was pardoned after the battle of Pharsalus. He was made (44 B.C.) peregrine praetor and Caesar promised to make him governor of Syria. Before the promise could be fulfilled, Cassius had become ringleader in the plot to kill Caesar. The plot involved more than 60 men (including Marcus Junius Brutus, Publius Servilius Casca, and Lucius Tillius Cimber) and was successfully accomplished in the senate on the Ides of March in 44 B.C. When the people were aroused by Antony against the conspirators, Cassius went to Syria. He managed to capture Dolabella at Laodicea and coordinated his own movements with those of Brutus. Antony and Octavian (later Augustus) met them in battle at Philippi. In the first engagement Cassius, thinking the battle lost, committed suicide. Another of the conspirators was Caius Cassius Parmensis, d. 30 B.C. He fought at Philippi and later with Sextus Pompeius. He later sided with Antony in the naval battle off Actium and was killed by order of Octavian.

orig. Cassius (Marcellus) Clay

(born Jan. 17, 1942, Louisville, Ken., U.S.) U.S. boxer. Cassius Clay took up boxing at the age of 12 and rose through the amateur ranks to win the Olympic light heavyweight crown in 1960. His first professional heavyweight h1 win was against Sonny Liston in 1964. After defending the h1 nine times between 1965 and 1967, he was stripped of it for refusing induction into the armed forces following his acceptance of the teachings of the Nation of Islam. It was then that he changed his name to Muhammad Ali. In 1974 Ali regained his h1 after defeating the former champion Joe Frazier and the then-current champion George Foreman. He lost to Leon Spinks in 1978 but later that year regained the h1 a third time, becoming the first heavyweight champion ever to do so. He retired in 1979, having lost only three of 59 fights. Attempted comebacks in 1980 and 1981 failed. Throughout his career Ali was known for his aggressive charm, invincible attitude, and colourful boasts, often expressed in doggerel verse. “I am the greatest” was his personal credo. Ali's later years have been marked by physical decline. Damage to his brain, caused by blows to the head, has resulted in slurred speech, slowed movement, and other symptoms of Parkinson disease.

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(born Oct. 19, 1810, Madison county, Ky., U.S.—died July 22, 1903, Whitehall, Ky.) U.S. abolitionist and politician. The son of a slaveholder and a relative of Henry Clay, he was strongly influenced by the abolitionist ideas of William Lloyd Garrison. In 1845 he founded the antislavery publication True American in Lexington, Ky., but he was forced by opponents to move it to Cincinnati, Ohio, and then to Louisville, Ky., where it was renamed The Examiner. He helped found the Republican Party in 1854. As U.S. minister to Russia (1861–62, 1863–69), he helped negotiate the Alaska Purchase.

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(born Oct. 19, 1810, Madison county, Ky., U.S.—died July 22, 1903, Whitehall, Ky.) U.S. abolitionist and politician. The son of a slaveholder and a relative of Henry Clay, he was strongly influenced by the abolitionist ideas of William Lloyd Garrison. In 1845 he founded the antislavery publication True American in Lexington, Ky., but he was forced by opponents to move it to Cincinnati, Ohio, and then to Louisville, Ky., where it was renamed The Examiner. He helped found the Republican Party in 1854. As U.S. minister to Russia (1861–62, 1863–69), he helped negotiate the Alaska Purchase.

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