Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Box/Folder, Saul Kay papers, 2014/Apr/3, Special Collections and Archives, Health Sciences Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Acquisition Information

Donor unknown.

Biographical/Historical Information

Saul Kay was born February 13, 1914 in New York, New York. A violin player, Kay initially planned to become a professional musician. He studied with a private teacher and in a conservatory, but he wanted to attend college. At that time colleges did not offer degrees in music, so he decided to study medicine instead. Kay attended New York University and while pursing his pre-med studies he served as concertmaster of the university orchestra. He graduated from New York Medical College in 1939 and after completing his pathology residency in 1942, was drafted for service as part of the Army Medical Corps during World War II. Kay served for four years, rising to the rank of major and awarded the Bronze Star for his service.

After the war, Kay completed residencies in pathology with the New York Post-Graduate Medical School and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. At Columbia he trained under noted pathologist Arthur Purdy Stout. Kay became a member of the Arthur Purdy Stout Club, which formed in Stout's honor in 1947. The group still exists today as the Arthur Purdy Stout Society of Surgical Pathologists.

The Medical College of Virginia (MCV) recruited Kay in 1950, where he began the surgical pathology division. Kay was known for his "patient first" approach to medicine and was an early advocate of cervical cancer screenings. He served as department chair until 1979 at which time he was granted professor emeritus status. Kay continued to work at VCU Medical Center until 1996 and also consulted at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The medical school recognized Kay's dedication to teaching by naming a faculty award in his honor in 1995. There is also a Saul Kay Chair in Diagnostic Pathology established at the school in 1997.

Kay never gave up his love of music. He continued to play after being advised by his teacher, Louis Persinger, that he might enjoy music more if it was not his profession. He played while pursing his medical degree and during his military service he managed to borrow a violin wherever he was stationed. When Kay came to Richmond he helped form the Lakeside String Quartet. He also assisted in the creation of the Richmond Symphony which began in 1957. Kay served as first violinist in the symphony from 1957 to 2000.

Kay passed away on January 7, 2004. He is interred at Arlington National Cemetery. He was married to Grace Calef Kay, also a physician, and they had a daughter, Deborah.

Scope and Contents

The collection is composed mostly of Kay's diplomas and certificates related to his medical education and career along with a prescription and treament notebook, photographs, official documents (medical licence), a letter from the MCV Pathology Department, and a resolution from the Richmond Symphony. It also includes some diplomas and certificates for his wife, Grace Calef Kay, who attended New York Medical College and completed a residency at Harlem Hospital in New York at the same time as her husband. The photographs are all group images taken while Kay was a resident at Columbia University Presbyterian Medical Center and at various annual Arthur Purdy Stout Club meetings. This is a very small collection, but it provides some information about the path of Kay's medical education, residencies, and career.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Arthur Purdy Stout Society of Surgical Pathologists
• Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center
• Kay, Saul
• Medical College of Virginia. Department of Pathology
• Stout, Arthur Purdy, 1885-1967
• The New York Preparatory School of Medicine